Classic Eventing Nation

Sunday Links Presented by One K Helmets

By on Oct 8, 2017 12:01 am -

Ashlyn Dorsey and RF Kinetic. Photo by Shelby Allen.

“That’s my girl!” you could hear Ashlyn Dorsey praising RF Kinetic all around the CIC3* course yesterday at Woodside Horse Trials. It’s always special to see a hardworking pair have success in competition, but it’s so heartwarming to get to share a little celebrating in their success. They were bang on through the last water where I saw them, and finished fifth overall. Go girls!

National Holiday: National Flutternutter Day

Major Events This Week: 

Boekelo: Website, Live Scores, Show Jumping Starting Order, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram

U.S. Weekend Action:

Course Brook Farm H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Kent School Fall H.T. [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

WindRidge Farm Fall H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Maryland at Loch Moy H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Radnor Hunt H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Middle Tennessee Pony Club H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Heritage Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Willow Draw Charity H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Woodside International CIC & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

The Event at Skyline H.T.  [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Sunday Links: 

Winning By Withdrawing: Kaitlin Hartford Shows Sportsmanship At Its Finest At RRP Makeover

Junior Isabela De Sousa Wins RRP Makeover For Third Time

Jack of All Horses, Master of None

Five-Star International Show to be Powered Solely by Horse Poo

Eventer buys TB colt for £50k — sells him for £450k

Conditioning Through The Seasons: Fall and Winter

Sunday Video: You can watch the Boekelo show jumping finale at this link starting at 11 a.m. local time/5 a.m. EST

No Bridle, No Problem for Elisa Wallace in Thoroughbred Makeover Freestyle Division

By on Oct 7, 2017 5:00 pm -

Elisa Wallace knows a thing or two about bringing the Thoroughbred Makeover Freestyle heat! She tied for 1st this year with Sir Teddy (Cashel Castle – Round Heels (IRE), by Daggers Drawn), a 2012 Illinois-bred OTTB whom you may have spotted out eventing at the Novice level of late under the name Fly With Me. The handsome grey, owned by Mike, Maddie and Michele Chisholm, also finished the eventing competition in 12th out of 97 competitors .

“Lear” looked cool as a cucumber when he entered the indoor (sans bridle!) to perform his Freestyle, with each move one-upping the next: side pass over a barrel …

… which then became a jump …

… and then she tooled around backwards for a bit …

… before flying with him over this jump …

… and a little more cantering backwards just to be sure …

… and finally, a well-deserved round of applause!

Watch their ride in its entirety:

What a performance — well played, you two. They returned for today’s finale which should be wrapping up at any moment, which means they’ll shortly be putting the finalists to an audience favorite vote! Keep an eye on the Retired Racehorse Project Facebook page for details. Go OTTBs. Go Eventing!

I’m so blessed to have had such an amazing team with me this weekend! #rrp #retiredracehorseproject2017

A post shared by Elisa Wallace (@wallaceeventing) on

Thoroughbred Makeover: Website, Entries, Schedule, Ride Times, Live Stream, Live Scores

Allison Thompson and Cactus Willie Crowned Eventing Champions at Thoroughbred Makeover

By on Oct 7, 2017 3:30 pm -

Photo courtesy of Retired Racehorse Project.

With 90 entries, Eventing was far and away the largest division at this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover — represent! In the end Allison Thompson of Fairview, NC, and Cactus Willie came away with the big win.

Allison purchased the 2012 Texas-bred gelding from Trillium Sport Horses in Ocala, FL. Cactus Willie (My Sweet William – Good Humor, by Smart Strike) had a milquetoast racing career, earning $1,305 in eight starts. His last race was just over a year ago, in September 2016, at Louisiana Downs and then it was onto a new career, in which he is clearly shining! Allison, whose main squeeze is her two-star horse Merlot 325, has done a beautiful job showing him the ropes — though she’s quick to give her horse all the credit.

Allison describes the horse as

“He was really relaxed for all three phases,” Allison says. “He’s easy to show off in dressage. And he just loped around on the buckle over the jumps.”

They earned a 76.316% in their dressage test, including a 9.5 on the free walk, then followed up with two foot-perfect jumping phases.

 

Cactus Willie’s winning dressage test at the Thoroughbred Makeover. He got a 9.5 on the free walk! Tune in to the live streaming at 9am tomorrow at https://www.retiredracehorseproject.org/makeover-finale-livestream

Posted by Thompson Equestrian on Friday, October 6, 2017

 

Cactus Willie in his show jumping phase at the Thoroughbred Makeover. Watch us tomorrow morning! Eventing runs from 9-9:45am
https://www.retiredracehorseproject.org/makeover-finale-livestream

Posted by Thompson Equestrian on Friday, October 6, 2017

“He’s a really flashy mover, he’s very very loose, and he’s very attractive to look at, but his beast feature is his brain,” she says. Even with the Kentucky Horse Park’s electric atmosphere, she explains that he just needs to stand and look around and take everything in, and then he’s good to go.

“Initially he was for sale,” she says. “But everyone is keeping tabs on him and so many people love him. I don’t know if I can let this one go.”

Cactus Willie has enjoyed a successful Beginner Novice debut, finishing 4th at Windridge Summer H.T. in August, and in September winning Kentucky Classic and collecting another fourth at Poplar Place. Allison plans to take him to his first Novice event at the end of October, and then move him up to Training level in the spring.

Their work here this weekend isn’t done yet, however! Today the top five riders in each discipline will compete in the Thoroughbred Makeover Finale for the title of America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred and a share of $100,000 in prize money. The competition will be live-streamed on the RRP website and Facebook page, the USEF Network, the Blood-Horse, and can be watched on Roku or Apple TV. There will be text or phone voting after the competition concludes at around 5 p.m., at which time they will announce the number. Until then, the competition is still underway so tune in!

Congrats again to Allison and Cactus Willie — we look forward to following  talented OTTB in his new career!

Also of interest to eventers: Nick Larkin, winner of the 1998 Rolex Kentucky 4* event with his New Zealand OTTB Red and 4th place finisher in this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover Eventing division, is hosting a cross country clinic tomorrow on the infield of the Kentucky Horse Park’s steeplechase course. Mounted instruction is available to Makeover participants and their Makeover horses for $75 — click here to register. Auditing is available at no cost to anyone gaining access to the KY Horse Park.

A number of other clinics are being offered as well, including “Freestyle 101” with Tik Maynard, “Dressage Fix-A-Test” with Jennifer Roth, and show jumping with Richard Lamb. See the full clinic lineup here.

Thoroughbred Makeover Eventing Division Top 10 (note: second round scores for top 5 are scores for today’s “America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred” final):

Thoroughbred Makeover: Website, Entries, Schedule, Ride Times, Live Stream, Live Scores

Tim Price Prevails on Boekelo Cross Country Day, Liz Halliday-Sharp 15th

By on Oct 7, 2017 12:40 pm -

Tim Price and Cekatinka. Photo by Jenni Autry.

All predictions came true for cross country day at Military Boekelo CCIO3*, with dark and stormy conditions plaguing horses and riders from the start here in Enschede, Netherlands. While it didn’t come bucketing down as intensely as it has over the past two days, a steady rain fell from the morning through the afternoon.

Tim Price ultimately prevailed as the 95th of 98 starters to set out on Sue Benson’s course, jumping clear with 4.0 time penalties aboard Cekatinka, an 11-year-old KWPN mare (King Kolibri X Katinka, by Julio Mariner xx), to move up from fifth after dressage and lead overnight on 43.7.

“It’s always a difficult thing when you go at the end of the day because you have to spend all day watching people do things very well and other people do things not so well, so it’s hard to stay on your focus and not get distracted by other things,” Tim said. “She’s not got a lot of experience at this level, but she’s a very clever horse. She knew her job, so I stuck to my plan.”

Ros Canter produced this mare to the two-star level before Tim’s wife, Jonelle, took over the ride last year. Jonelle won the Lignières CCI2* on her a year ago before passing the reins to Tim while expecting her first child. As to whether the mare will now return to Jonelle, as they happily welcomed their son last month, Tim quipped: “She’s not getting her back!”

Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Alex Hua Tian, our leader after dressage on 37.3, added 6.8 time penalties with Don Geniro, a 10-year-old Hanoverian (Don Kennedy X Gina, by Giorgione) owned by Pip Higgins, Pam Dews and Sarah Higgins, to slip to second place on 44.1.

Tim Lips and Bayro, an 11-year-old Hanoverian (Casantos X Vanya, by Corland), lead the Dutch National Championships thanks to a clear round and 6.4 time penalties to move from second to third place on 45.5. Click here to see full individual scores after cross country. (Note that official scores have not yet been released due to a number of appeals.)

New Zealand leads the Nations Cup standings on 152.9 after cross country, with Germany in second on 166.3 and Australia in third on 183.7. Team USA sits eighth of 11 teams, with two of our three riders jumping clear rounds today.

Cross country proved to be very influential, with 50% of the field jumping clear — lower than the 60% average we have seen over the last seven years since EquiRatings started tracking statistics. Just one pair made the time — Chris Burton and Kate Walls’ Cooley Lands, to skyrocket up the leaderboard from 69th to 10 place.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and the Deniro Z Syndicate’s Deniro Z, a 9-year-old KWPN (Zapatero VDL X Zonne-Trend by French Buffett xx), moved up from 24th to 16th place as the highest-placed American pair, jumping a cracking clear round with 10.4 time penalties in the horse’s CCI3* debut.

“What a horse! It was only his second Advanced in his life, and he just did his first two-star this year. To give me the feel he gave me around Boekelo was incredible. He got better and better as he went. He finished very fresh and I could have gone faster, but I really wanted to take care of him out there since it was his first CCI3*,” Liz said.

“This is one of the wetter Boekelos I’ve been to. I tried to find the best ground I could, which is where some of the time faults came from him, and also because I am thinking of him as a horse for the future. Today wasn’t about trying to get the time. I really wanted him to have a good experience in his first CCI3*, and I’m thrilled my owners, Rob and Chris Desino, were here to watch him.”

Caroline Martin and Pebbly Maximus. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Caroline Martin had a very long day waiting to go with Pebbly Maximus, her own and Sherrie Martin’s 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Nazar X Kelshamore Lady). They set out of the start box as the fifth to last pair to go and powered through the slop to jump clear with 13.2 time penalties, moving from 60th up to 32nd place on 63.4.

“He has the biggest heart of any horse I’ve ever ridden. It was very, very muddy, but I just kept kicking and he kept going. My number one goal was to jump all the jumps clear, and that’s what we did. It was one of those rare times where everything went to plan. He was pretty foot perfect,” she said.

“He’s a very short horse and he doesn’t have a huge stride, but he has a more open stride on cross country. My original plan at the water was to go left, but I re-walked it and decided to do the right-hand side, which actually worked out well. At the last question going down the hill to the brush corner he was dead straight.”

Katherine Coleman and Back to Business II. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Katherine Coleman and Back to Business II, the pathfinder for our three-rider USA Nations Cup team, were one of 27 total combinations that had trouble at fence 8, a combination of three brush corners, to give us a 28% total fault rate for 8A, 8B and 8C combined. They also picked up a runout on course at 24b, the brush corner at the bottom of the steep hill following 24A that caused trouble for 11 total combinations.

“She was a bit naughty at that last stop because she locked onto the fence and at the last minute ducked out. I think we’ve got some homework to do over the winter to get her on side a little bit more,” Katherine said.

“She’s going to be as fast as Longwood when she gets established, but she went green on me at those difficult questions. I think she needs a solid season at three-star level next year to get everything confirmed. She’s a really exciting horse for the future. It wasn’t lack of scope; she just needs to focus a bit more.”

Chef d’Equipe Leslie Law also weighed in with his thoughts on Team USA’s performance after cross country: “Katherine was first out for the team, and the horse just showed a bit of inexperience. I think she’ll come on from this and be another horse after Katherine has another winter with her.

“I thought Liz rode fantastically. It’s a young horse and has very little experience at the Advanced level, so it was a lot to ask of him. She rode really positively — forward and in a great balance everywhere. He’s definitely a very exciting horse for the future.

“It was a very good experience for Caroline to have to sit around all day and have to wait until the very end of the day to go. These were not easy conditions, and she had a fantastic ride on the horse.”

The final horse inspection is at 9 a.m. local time, 3 a.m. EST tomorrow. The first group of show jumping starts at 11 a.m. local time/5 a.m. EST and will be streamed live on the Boekelo website. Click here to catch up on all of EN’s Boekelo coverage. Go Eventing.

Boekelo: Website, Ride Times & Live Scoring, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Freelance or Bust, Part One: Weighing Your Options

By on Oct 7, 2017 9:00 am -

When you’ve worked in an industry for a reasonable amount of time and really feel that you’ve found your niche, it can be tempting to fly the nest and set up shop as a freelancer. Whether you’re a groom or rider, or some combination of the two, or if you’re working in the equestrian industry in a less hands-on way (for example, as journalist – hi!), if you crave variety in your working days and the ability to control your own schedule, making the Big Leap is likely to be on your mind fairly regularly. And, man, it’s HARD getting some straight-up, straightforward advice on how to proceed.

This is where I want to help you, fledgling freelancers. I’ve done it twice: first, as a groom and rider and then again this year as a journalist, because obviously I take a while to make my mind up and if there’s cake on offer, I want to have it AND eat it. (Sorry, but what else are you meant to do with cake?!)

Me – and perhaps you – when presented with career choices. And also cake.

I don’t assume to know the ins and outs of every career scenario, but I’ve learned a few things – largely through trial and error – that are pretty consistent golden rules, that you can pick and choose and apply to your own business model. (That’s you! You’re a business model! Doesn’t that sound exciting, like you’d look absolutely #flawless in a pencil skirt?)

Did you think you’d get this far without a Beyonce gif? Don’t be silly.

First things first: let’s talk options. So you’re thinking of going freelance? Great! But man, doesn’t it feel like a huge decision? Don’t you feel like there’s some magical moment you need to wait for, when everything will fall into place and you can take a step into your new, exciting venture?

Yeah, no. It doesn’t really work like that, unfortunately. There’s rarely a ‘perfect’ moment, and usually, taking that step requires careful planning, a bit of thought, and then the balls to just go for it. If you’ve been thinking about self-employment for a while, you’ve likely thought about the pros and cons of making the change, but if you haven’t, it’s the best place to start. Go old-school, get out a piece of paper, and make actual lists. These will likely include personal factors – maybe you have a work buddy who you’d miss, or maybe a special horse you hate the idea of not seeing every day. A lot of them will be broader, and these are what we’ll have a look at now…

The Pros and Cons of Going Freelance: An (Almost) Exhaustive List, Illustrated with Otters, Because Why Not

  • Pro: You will meet a lot of people. One of the best bits of freelancing is that your work is varied, and so the places you go and people you work with are varied, too. This is brilliant for networking, but also great for expanding your social circle and meeting people you may never otherwise have encountered.

There’s a whole new social circle out there, just waiting for you to join it.

  • Con: You won’t have the same work friendships. There’s a certain type of friendship that’s born from working together day in and day out, and unfortunately, those #workwifey situations don’t tend to crop up when you’re a freelancer. If you don’t find making new friends particularly easy, this may be a jarring change.

Probably no more platonic hand-holding on the way to the coffee machine. Sorry.

  • Pro: You’ll be in charge of your own schedule. Spotted that Wednesday’s going to be gloriously sunny? As long as you haven’t already booked a client in, the day is yours to enjoy. Holiday time, similarly, doesn’t have to be approved by anyone – just don’t book in jobs for the time you want off. Appointments, making it to the bank or post office in opening hours, those bizarrely-scheduled Tuesday morning jumper shows – they’re all easy to fit in when you’re freelance.

Brunch with friends on a Thursday? The avocado toast is yours for the taking.

  • Con: You’ll be in charge of your own productivity. Look, procrastination is a real thing, and if you let it get out of control it can feel pretty crippling. If you’re a freelance groom, this is way less of a problem, as – if you’re any good at all – once you’ve booked in a job, you’ve got to get out of bed and get yourself to those horses, no matter what. If you’re in media, PR, sponsorship, or anything that requires daily initiative, it’s all too easy to find yourself eight hours into a BuzzFeed quiz binge, with a bit of a migraine and a serious case of cabin fever. You’ll probably tell yourself you work better at night, just to make yourself feel better. I see you, girl.

Procrastidating: the art of putting off work by swiping through Tinder until you actually run out of people.

  • Pro: You can make more money. Often, freelancers will make more per hour than their permanently employed counterparts, despite carrying out the same tasks. This is often referred to as danger money, which is way less Lara Croft than it sounds, and just means that you have the chance to bank more cash because the job could suddenly disappear from beneath you. If you have a selection of clients with whom you’ve built up a good rapport, and your reputation for quality work spreads so that you have a waitlist for new clients, you can earn yourself a pretty appealing income.

Another win? Payday happens whenever you send your invoices. That end-of-the-month feeling, weekly.

  • Con: You won’t have the security of a set paycheque – or benefits. This is definitely the hardest – and scariest – thing at the beginning, when you may not have many clients, and you feel you can’t say no to any job. You won’t have a guarantee each month of how much you’ll earn, nor will you be entitled to sick pay, compensation for injury, or holiday and maternity leave. This can also be a major point to consider if part of your pay package as a groom includes training and board for your horse, so consider your long-term goals here.

If small people are in your immediate plans for the future, you need to make a solid financial plan before you go freelance. I can’t help with that, but I can give you an otter with a bottle.

  • Pro: You could find yourself taking on some seriously exciting projects. Freelance grooms are often sought out by riders heading abroad for competitions, so if you’re getting the winter blues, you could, for example, book in a couple of weeks with a client at Spain’s Sunshine Tour or head to Ocala to up your vitamin D levels. These are the #livingthedream moments your Instagram is crying out for.

Look, an exciting job for an otter is probably a bit different from an exciting job for a human, okay? EN is a judgment-free zone.

  • Con: You have to have your head in the game outside of the normal 9 (or 7) to 5. Successful freelancing is about spotting – or creating – opportunities and then following through, so the part of your brain that wears the sexy pencil skirt and does business-y things needs to be ticking over all the time. This could mean spotting, and taking note of, potential new clients when you’re aimlessly scrolling social media, or it could mean being diligent about keeping up an engaging commentary on Twitter. It could also mean taking calls from clients at seriously inopportune moments, particularly if you work in a field in which some of them may be in a different time zone. This isn’t necessarily a con, though: it may be that this 24/7 engagement with your career comes very naturally to you.

Pictured: you, trying to set up a Skype meeting with a client at 2am.

So that’s your homework, budding freelancers: whatever your business model is, whether you’re retraining OTTBs, writing event reports, churning out top-notch product PR, or sending your charges into the ring looking like the beautiful unicorns they are inside, you need to draw up your own list of pros and cons. Then, we’re going to work out how to combat those cons.

Catch you on the flip-side, gang – next time, we’ll be dissecting how you can set yourself up for success before you make the leap.

James Alliston and Happenstance Take Control of Woodside CIC3*

By on Oct 7, 2017 8:00 am -

James Alliston and Happenstance. Photo by Shelby Allen.

James Alliston and Mary McKee’s Happenstance might be new to one another, but what they lack in experience they make up for in talent as they are leading the CIC3* at Woodside International Horse Trials.

The pair earned a 45.1 in the dressage which pushed them to the front of the pack.  “That was better than I could’ve hoped really,” James said. “The last show went very well in the dressage. He won the dressage there, but it’s just new partnership and me trying to figure out what he likes.

“He’s done really well in the dressage before, but I think I was riding him a certain way which probably wasn’t what he liked, and hopefully I think we’ve figured that out.” 

They then posted one of only two clear rounds in this group to stay on their dressage score into tomorrow’s cross country. “Today I was hoping we could have the luck on our side and jump a clear round. I don’t think he rubbed any fences. You can’t jump better than that,” he smiled. 

Helen Bouscaren and Ben. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Second-placed Helen Bouscaren claimed the other clear round. She and her own Ben jumped from fifth to second after leaving all the poles up. They carry a score of 54.4 to the final phase.

Helen got Ben as a 3-year-old off the track, and they’ve slowly climbed the levels together ever since. An injury in 2014 sidelined their progress, but they look better than ever now as they aim for the CCI3* at Galway Downs next month.

Derek di Grazia and Ringwood Justice. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Derek di Grazia rounds out the top three for this three-star class. He and his own Ringwood Justice added four time penalties and one rail for a two-phase score of 56.

Apart from James and Helen, rails were flying for this group. 4th through 6th place all had at least one down, and it increased from there. Looking toward Ian Stark’s cross country course, James and Happenstance have a comfortable 9-point lead, so he has room to play with the gas pedal. The rest of the top five don’t have the same luxury, so these riders should have their eyes on the clock.

Woodside: Website, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage

 

 

Saturday Links from Tipperary

By on Oct 7, 2017 12:01 am -

It’s a bittersweet weekend for me as I head to my last event of the season today. I’m hoping to end on a high note and if I can just remember to kick my horse and go forward, then I believe we can do just that! I’ll be sad that our season will be over, but it will be nice to relax and enjoy the fall before we resume the grind in the indoor over the winter.

National Holiday: National LED Light Day

Major Events This Week: 

Boekelo: Website, Ride Times & Live Scoring, XC Order of Go, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram

U.S. Weekend Action:

Course Brook Farm H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Kent School Fall H.T. [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

WindRidge Farm Fall H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Maryland at Loch Moy H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Radnor Hunt H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Middle Tennessee Pony Club H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Heritage Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Willow Draw Charity H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Woodside International CIC & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

The Event at Skyline H.T.  [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Saturday Links:

From the Racetrack to the RRP Thoroughbred Makeover, Jockey Rosie Napravnik Stands By Her Horse

2017 Woodside International Horse Trials Adequan USEA Gold Cup CIC3* and Advanced Course Preview

A Look Around The 2017 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover

Allison Thomas: USEA’s Volunteer of the Month Presented by Athletux

Q&A with a 3-Day Winner: Carol Kozlowski – Part 1

Warm up this winter with British Eventing

Conditioning Through the Seasons: Fall and Winter

Saturday Video:

Elisa Wallace is at the Kentucky Horse Park this weekend with two horses. This lovely grey, Sir Teddy, owned by Mike, Maddie and Michele Chisholm finished the eventing competition in 12th out of 97 competitors and is tied for first in the freestyle competition. They’ll be returning for today’s finale and you can watch on the livestream  beginning at 9 a.m. EST and vote for your favorite around 5 p.m. EST! Here are some highlights from their routine yesterday:

Friday Video from World Equestrian Brands: Extreme Beach Riding

By on Oct 6, 2017 4:00 pm -

It’s getting harder and harder to avoid the unpleasant truth: winter really is coming. But in the spirit of unapologetic denial and #TGIF feel-good vibes, your Friday video this week is something seriously sunny.

Every year, 150 soldiers and their horses take a two-week break from ceremonial duties in London to head to coastal Norfolk for the Household Cavalry’s summer camp. Here, they take part in activities that reinforce the trust and partnership between horse and rider: tent-pegging, showjumping, cross-country and, most famously, one big, mad beach ride.

Check out this amazing drone video, captured by local videographer Chris Taylor, and be prepared to be seriously impressed at the amount of control the riders have while going for a good gallop with 149 of their closest pals.

Look, if the Household Cavalry can pass this off as training, then so can you — a pirouette because some seaweed has touched your horse’s leg is still a pirouette, right?

Team USA Talks Course Strategy Ahead of Boekelo Cross Country

By on Oct 6, 2017 12:51 pm -

Fence 23AB on Sue Benson’s Boekelo course. Photo via CrossCountry App.

We are in for a wet and wild cross country day tomorrow at Military Boekelo CCIO3*, with the forecast calling for a 90% chance of rain. If the weather mimics the conditions we’ve seen over the past two days, we can expect to see very heavy periods of rain, which will only continue to soak the already saturated course.

Sue Benson has designed the track here in Enschede, Netherlands, for the past 17 years. The optimum time is 10 minutes, 3 seconds, and the course has 40 total jumping efforts. You can view photos of all the fences and listen to Sue’s commentary here.

While six in 10 starters at Boekelo have jumped clear on cross country this decade, only 6.2% have made the optimum time, according to EquiRatings. Thirty seconds separate the entire top 50 on the leaderboard after dressage, and we are expecting time penalties to be extremely influential.

The view looking down the bank to fence 24B. Photo via CrossCountry App.

Liz Halliday-Sharp, Caroline Martin and Katherine Coleman are all ready to do battle with the course tomorrow. Team USA is sitting in eighth place in the Nations Cup standings at the conclusion of dressage and looking to gain ground.

This is Liz Halliday Sharp’s seventh time competing at Boekelo, and she said it is the wettest she has ever seen the ground. Rain has been pouring down steadily over the past two days, and while we had brief bursts of sunlight today, there hasn’t been much drying progress.

“There are some really tough combinations,” Liz said. “I would say the course isn’t overly huge, but there are a lot of questions. It’s going to take some determined and smart riding, and I think managing your ground position is going to be a big factor this year.”

The jump in to the first water complex at fence 10B. Photo via CrossCountry App.

Liz and the Deniro Z Syndicate’s Deniro Z, a 9-year-old KWPN (Zapatero VDL X Zonne-Trend, by French Buffet xx), sit in 24th place on 44.6 in the horse’s CCI3* debut. “I believe in this horse, and he is a trier,” she said. “He trusts me, and the plan is to go out be smart.”

Katherine Coleman competed at Boekelo for the first time two years ago with Longwood, and while she said she thinks some of the questions are easier this year, there is still plenty to do on the course.

“I think the combination of corners at the Hollow (at fence 8) is probably the toughest question,” Katherine said. “It’s quite early on, and there are usually a lot of problems there. I’ll be relieved when that’s over with! There are a lot of corners, so your horse needs to be good with corners. Hopefully the time, especially with the weather, will be a factor so we can gain some ground.”

Katherine and Kalai LLC’s Back to Business II, 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare (Harlequin Du Carel X Moxella, by Quick Star), sit in 53rd position on 51.3. “Bizzy” made the optimum time in her CCI3* debut at Tattersalls CCI3* over the summer, and Katherine is hoping to pilot her pocket rocket to another fast and clear round.

Caroline Martin is making her Boekelo debut with Pebbly Maximus, and she agrees the course is beefy. The 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Nazar X Kelshamore Lady) owned by Caroline and Sherrie Martin, is sitting in 60th place on 50.2.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest largest CCI I’ve done, but it’s very technical. There are a lot of questions towards the end that once the horses are tired, it’s going to be hard to get them back and jump clean. I don’t think it’s a dressage competition.”

Looking toward the final water complex, two tables set in the water at 20AB. Photo via CrossCountry App.

USEF Developing Rider Coach Leslie Law, who is acting as Chef d’Equipe for Team USA at Boekelo, said the team has an advantage in that our first rider, Katherine Coleman, doesn’t go out until nearly two hours after the start. They will be able to watch tomorrow and fine-tune their strategy depending on how the course is riding.

“We have a plan and a couple of lines at certain fences. If one line isn’t working out, we have another line in mind. It depends on the weather. We could see two competitions, quite honestly. The ground is soft, and I think it’s going to get chewed up and harder to get the time as the competition unfolds,” Leslie said.

“It isn’t an easy course to get time anyways because it’s twisty, so you have to make sure you’re going from the start and staying up on your markers because you’re probably not going to make up time toward the end of the course.”

The direct route at fences 13 and 14. Photo courtesy of CrossCountry App.

USA cross country ride times are:

  • Katherine Coleman and Back to Business II: 11:26 a.m. local time/5:26 a.m. EST
  • Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z: 2:06 p.m. local time/ 8:06 a.m. EST
  • Caroline Martin and Pebbly Maximus: 3:46 p.m. local time/9:46 a.m. EST

Cross country starts at 9:30 a.m. local time/3:30 a.m. EST. You can watch live with commentary from Diarm Byrne, Nicole Brown and special guests on the free live stream on the Boekelo website. Go Eventing.

Boekelo: Website, Ride Times & Live Scoring, XC Starting Order, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Alex Hua Tian Holds Boekelo Lead, Team USA Sits 8th in Nations Cup

By on Oct 6, 2017 11:57 am -

Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro. Photo by Libby Law Photography.

Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro held onto their overnight lead at Military Boekelo CCIO3* to remain at the top on 37.3 at the conclusion of dressage here in Enschede, Netherlands. But Alex and “The Don,” a 10-year-old Hanoverian (Don Kennedy X Gina, by Giorgione) owned by Pip Higgins, Pam Dews and Sarah Higgins, don’t have much breathing room on the tightly bunched leaderboard.

Tim Lips and Bayro, an 11-year-old Hanoverian (Casantos X Vanya, by Corland), sit in second place on 39.1 as the highest-placed Dutch pair thanks to delivering the best test of day two. Tim last won the Dutch National Championships at Boekelo in 2007, and Alice Naber-Lozeman has dominated the last four years at Boekelo to defend her title. She currently sits in 30th place with ACSI Peter Parker.

Tim Lips and Bayro. Photo by Jenni Autry.

But 30 seconds separate the entire top 50 at Boekelo, meaning every second will prove incredibly costly as we look ahead to what is expected to be an extremely influential day of cross country across Sue Benson’s course.

Australia’s Chris Burton is known for his speedy cross country riding, and he is perfectly positioned to stalk the leaders from third place on 39.3 with Quality Purdey, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Claire Poole.

Chris Burton and Quality Purdey. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Germany’s Julia Mestern, a two-time winner of Boekelo, now sits in fourth place on 39.6 with Grand Prix Iwest. New Zealand’s Tim Price delivered the second best test of day two, scoring 39.7 with Cekatinka to round out the top five on 39.7 and give us five scores in the 30s.

France occupies the next three spots on the leaderboard, with Thibault Fournier and Siniani de Lathus in sixth on 40.5, Aurelien Leroy and Seashore Spring in seventh on 41.1, and Astier Nicolas and Vinci de la Vigne in eighth on 41.1.

Andreas Dibowski, another German rider who has won Boekelo twice, sits ninth on 41.4 with FRH Corrida, and Tamara Acklin and Kontiki CH round out the top 10 for Switzerland on 41.5.

New Zealand leads the Nations Cup after dressage on 127.70, with France in second on 132.0 and Germany in third on 134.3. Our USA #girlpower team of Liz Halliday-Sharp, Caroline Martin and Katherine Coleman sit eighth and are ready to gain ground tomorrow.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z, a 9-year-old KWPN (Zapatero VDL X Zonne-Trend by French Buffett xx) owned by the Deniro Z Syndicate, sit 24th on 44.6 as the highest-placed U.S. pair after dressage. You can read Liz’s comment after her test in our lunch report.

Caroline Martin and Sherrie Martin’s Pebbly Maximus, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Nazar X Kelshamore Lady), were our final pair to go today, scoring 50.2 to sit in 60th place out of 99 combinations.

She has been working tirelessly on her dressage with Leslie Law, who is also acting as the Chef d’Equipe for Team USA at Boekelo, and scored in the 40s at Houghton Hall and Bramham over the summer. Unfortunately, some bobbles today with “Rory” chipped away at their score.

Caroline Martin and Pebbly Maximus. Photo by Jenni Autry.

“We’ve been making a lot of progress. I have to thank Leslie for that. All the things that we thought were going to go really well just didn’t go to plan. I thought the trot work went quite well, which I’ve been working really hard on,” Caroline said.

“I made him a bit upset when I slid my leg back and put too much pressure on with my leg (in the serpentine), and he got upset. It was totally my fault. He’s a great horse, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Katherine Coleman and Back to Business II. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Katherine Coleman did her test yesterday with Kalai Inc’s Back to Business II, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare (Harlequin Du Carel X Moxella, by Quick Star), and now sits in 64th place on 51.3. Click here to read Katherine’s comments on her test in yesterday’s dressage report.

Based on how much rain has already fallen and tomorrow’s forecast calling for even more rain, Boekelo is not going to be a dressage show. Stay tuned for quotes from all three members of Team USA and Leslie Law as to their strategy for tomorrow. Click here to preview the cross country course.

USA cross country ride times:

  • Katherine Coleman and Back to Business II: 11:26 a.m. local time/5:26 a.m. EST
  • Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z: 2:06 p.m. local time/ 8:06 a.m. EST
  • Caroline Martin and Pebbly Maximus: 3:46 p.m. local time/9:46 a.m. EST

Cross country starts at 9:30 a.m. local time/3:30 a.m. EST. You can watch live with commentary from Diarm Byrne, Nicole Brown and special guests on the free live stream. Go Eventing.

Boekelo: Website, Ride Times & Live Scoring, Friday Ride Times, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram