Classic Eventing Nation

Friday News & Notes from Stable View

By on Jan 5, 2024 5:30 am -

A new baby eventer is on the way! Many happy returns to Cornelia Dorr Fletcher and Jacob Fletcher on the news of an incoming family member. We’ll be looking out for that kiddo at Kentucky in about 18 years.

U.S. Weekend Preview

Sporting Days Farm January Horse Trials I (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Friday News & Reading:

We know Elisa Wallace not only as an eventer, but also as a pro mustang trainer. It was actually a bucket list item of Elisa’s to train a mustang, and the path she started led her to some pretty amazing experiences and horses. [Elisa Wallace on Mustangs]

Boyd Martin has made an annual trip to Japan to teach a clinic put on by the JRA, the National Riding Club Association of Japan and Godolphin, and the focal point is always on former racehorses. With this year’s clinic in the books, there are lessons to be learned from all. [Boyd Martin Gets Back to His Roots]

USEA EA 21 National Camp is well underway, and the rest of us who aren’t still enjoying our youthful years can live vicariously thanks to some excellent reports from on the ground. In Temecula, CA, West coast riders are honing in on their fundamentals, something that rings true no matter what type of riding you do. [Fundamentals Have Their Moment]

Video Break:

I polled our team to find out who would try this with their horse, and it’s a pretty even split on “100% would do” and “would probably get kicked in the head”.

Thursday Video: Learning with Laura and Dickie at the London International Horse Show

By on Jan 4, 2024 5:03 pm -

December’s London International Horse Show isn’t just the destination for festive vibes, great shopping, and top-class showjumping – it’s also a seriously cool opportunity to learn a thing or two from some stars across the disciplines, an endeavour that’s growing year on year. One of those learning opportunities in the showcase arena, which is tucked into the shopping village, came from British eventing team Performance Manager Dickie Waygood, who spearheaded a fascinating demo that criss-crossed the levels. One of his riders, Olympic gold medallist and three-time five-star winner Laura Collett, showed off how to produce and school a top-level horse — in this case, the handsome Dacapo — while seasoned vlogger Meg Elphick showed how to translate those exercises to the lower levels, riding her Badminton grassroots partner, Jam. So many masterclasses feature riders and horses with heaps of international experience, so this rare opportunity was a very welcome one indeed. Relive the whole shebang with this great video, posted by Meg, and take plenty of inspiration for your next jumping session.

MERs in the Sunshine: Early-Season Portuguese Spring Tour Returns for 2024

By on Jan 4, 2024 4:15 pm -

Fun in the sun: early-season eventing in Portugal returns for 2024. Photo courtesy of Shadow Film/Mato do Duque.

Up until its final running in 2022, Portugal’s Barroca d’Alva was the place to be for eventers looking to gain early-season runs and qualifications – and almost legendary communal barbecues ahead of the year to come, too. It’s been a much-missed fixture, but now, the team at Mata do Duque is bringing this multi-week tour back for 2024, offering riders the chance to nail down their Paris qualifiers nice and early, and give their less experienced horses valuable exposure and runs, too.

Mata do Duque is set in Canha, close to Lisbon – and close to Barroca’s venue, too. While this is its first time hosting the season starter, it’s not a totally new event: we saw it run successfully last October most recently, and, in fact, its history within Portugal’s eventing season goes back way further than that, too. It was the host of Portugal’s first-ever FEI three-day event back in 2000, and continued on the next year, too, before passing the reins to Barroca.

Now, with a new team of organisers, several of whom are international competitors themselves, the event marks an exciting start to a busy season. The first week of the Portuguese Spring Tour will run February 17–20, with international classes held at CCI1*, CCI2*-S, and CCI3*, while the second week, which runs from February 28 to March 3, will host CCI1*, CCI2*-L, CCI3*-L, and CCI4*-S classes, the latter of which is the first Northern hemisphere Olympic qualifier of the 2024 season and a useful opportunity for picking up a ‘confirmation’ result, required at this level or above, to tick the final boxes for Paris, or to solidify the list of MER results required for selection.

To take a closer look at the venue and get a taster of the event to come, check out this preview video – and for more information on the event itself, head over to the Portuguese Eventing Association’s Facebook page.

 

Badminton Box Office Opens for 2024 Priority Tickets

By on Jan 4, 2024 12:00 pm -

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo: your 2023 Badminton champions. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Off-season blues, be gone: the start of the international season might still be a little ways away, but it’s never too early to start planning the highlights of your year. And if that includes a trip to the MARS Badminton Horse Trials – which, let’s be real, we highly recommend – then you’re in luck this week. The box office is now open for priority bookings for this year’s event, which is set to take place from Wednesday, May 8, to Sunday, May 12 at the incomparably beautiful Gloucestershire estate.

Though Badminton, the world’s longest-standing five-star event, is always well worth the trip, this year is particularly exciting for a couple of reasons. The first of those? Simple logistics: while we’ve gotten used to seeing Kentucky and Badminton run on back-to-back, truly helter skelter weeks, this year, we’ve got a week off between the two events, which means you could feasibly recover from one, get yourself across the pond, and be fully energised to take in the next, too – and the same holds true for riders, who’ll find it easier to enter horses in both competitions this year. The other, of course, is the Olympics. While some of the very obvious Paris candidates probably won’t come forward – we’re likely to see, for example, Ros Canter’s 2023 champ Lordships Graffalo kept on ice, rather than running again – there’ll be plenty of riders who know they need a super spring result to make themselves frontrunners for selection, and so the tension and the excitement will be at a fever pitch.

Priority ticketing, which opened yesterday, is available for anyone who has previously purchased Badminton tickets and, as such, created an account on the event’s ticketing server. If that’s not you, don’t worry – general sales will open on January 10 (that’s next Wednesday!) and you’ll be able to get your mitts on a number of different access options, from daily general admission passes to week-long members’ badges, reserved grandstand seating, and much, much more. We like to think that after last year’s wet weekend, we might be treated to a bit of glorious sunshine this year. Perhaps. And if not: Badminton truly is every bit as fun in the rain. Just pack your waterproofs, and get your tickets here.

The Debrief: Taylor McFall Recaps Her 2023 Season

By on Jan 4, 2024 9:30 am -

Welcome to The Debrief, where we’ll recap the experience of a rider following a big result or otherwise memorable competition/season. Click here to read more editions of The Debrief. This week, we catch up with young rider Taylor McFall, who hails from northern California out of her family’s Dragonfire Farm. This edition of The Debrief is brought to you in collaboration with Athletux’s Young Professionals program.

Photo by Sherry Stewart.

What was your number one goal for this event/season?

My main goal in 2023 was to make the Area VI eventing team.

What did you practice the most in the weeks leading up to the event/season?

I worked most on my dressage and show jumping, with a big focus on my posture. I’ve had to work specifically on how I carry my shoulders as I had an old habit of rounding my back and being too giving in my reins.

I was lucky to have the chance to compete on my mother’s horse, Hallelujah DF, who taught me alot about riding on the flat since she has a beautiful range of movement. She gave a different feel that really allowed me to push for better movements, where the other Thoroughbreds I ride would become more tense. Being more bold in my flat at home really helped me work up to more confident dressage performances at the shows.

Photo by Richard Bogach.

Describe your feelings after finishing cross country in three words:

Out of breath.

What do you do after a big event? Do you spend a lot of time rewatching your rides? Do you go back and watch any of the live stream?

My favorite thing to do after a particularly difficult show is to reset the courses or parts of the courses to practice at home. After most shows last season my parents and I would re-set the show jump courses jump for jump or recreate a difficult cross country line in our cross country field. It helps me process my ride to feel how I could have ridden things better or differently.

While I do like looking back at my footage from every event, I personally don’t like to re-watch old rides too much since I like to look ahead and focus on what I’m doing next.

What is the number one thing you learned about yourself this season? What about what you learned about your horse?

I learned that I’m too passive of a rider, leaving things up to the horse when I should (and do) know better. I’ve learned that all my horses at the moment are really quite tough and brave — so one of us needs to be the brains of the operation and reel things in a bit…

What would you say has been the biggest thing you’ve overcome en route to having the season you did?

I’d say the biggest thing I’ve overcome was learning to ride a new mount after the injury of my main horse Stoneman. My original plan was to ride him on the Area VI CCI3* team at Galway in November, but after a trailering injury midway through the year I was left without a horse. I could still then have a shot at the CCI2* team if I could learn to ride Hallelujah DF who is nearly a polar opposite of Stoney. She required a lot stronger, more confident ride, being both a warmblood and a young horse.

I’d say this has been one of the biggest learning curves in my riding career. In the end, I went from being so outside my comfort zone to having a partner I knew I could perform well with at NAYC.

Taylor McFall and Stoneman. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

What is a piece of advice you would give to yourself, 5 years ago, now?

5 years ago was when I started my career as an FEI rider and my advice to that Taylor would just be to stay brave and stay hungry. Keep having big goals and keep fighting to reach them. Just because you don’t win a show doesn’t diminish any personal victory you may have achieved, and just because you win a show doesn’t mean you’re perfect and have nothing left to learn.

How do you plan to spend your off season? What do you like to do when you’re not riding and competing all the time?

When I’m not riding or showing I’m often catching up on my college school work or creating art. I like to draw and paint both traditionally and digitally. Throughout the year I work on painting requests for personal portraits I receive and make cartoons or animate on my ipad to help me fall asleep. Since it’s the off season I should be able to get a lot more personal stuff done and hope to keep improving my art.

Describe your history with your horse:

I started riding my horse Stoneman in 2021 just before the West Coast NAYC and was lucky to have such an awesome partnership with this horse. We were super confident together 2* and then continued to have great rides at Intermediate and 3*. He was an off the track Thoroughbred my mom bought at 4 years old from a friend and then re-trained for eventing.

My 2* horse, Hallelujah DF, is a 8-year-old homebred mare that I’ve known since birth. Produced out of my family farm at Dragonfire, we are all so proud of her and what she’s done so far. While I only started riding her half way through the 2023 season, she has taught me so much and I feel lucky to have both my amazing mounts.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I’m looking forward to 2024 with Halle, Stoney, and several more exciting young prospects. I hope to apply what I’ve learned this season and help my horses be the best they can be.

Thursday News & Notes from Achieve Equine

By on Jan 4, 2024 12:01 am -

Photo courtesy of Phyllis Dawson.

Well, it’s that time of year again: the annual Windchase Eventing Polar Dive is in the books, and while I personally won’t be joining in on these festivities, I’ll happily receive and circulate the resulting photos! I guess they do say a good cold plunge is good for mental health, but so is an iced coffee so I think I’ll stick with that for now. More power to those brave working students, though!

U.S. Weekend Preview

Sporting Days Farm January Horse Trials I (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Thursday News & Reading

Need some help setting some quality goals for 2024? You and me both. Luckily there are plenty of resources out there to help us reach our goals, and Coach Daniel Stewart sits down with USEA Podcast host Nicole Brown to discuss how to make the most of your strategy skills. [Goal Setting for 2024]

Today I learned that Boston University has a burgeoning equestrian teamed, helmed by coach Phyllis Cervelli. With a lifetime of horses on her card, Phyllis has brought her knowledge and her desire to enable young equestrians to become the best versions of themselves to the team environment — and it’s paying off. [Phyllis Cervelli Develops Thinking Riders]

You can never have enough tips on running a barn smoothly and safely. Here are 13 more to add to your toolbox this winter.

Working with a young horse this winter, or a horse who tends to hollow in the back? Try these exercises to encourage a lengthening and stretching of the neck.

Sponsor Corner:

Are you stocked up on FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips for this season? Click here to snag your favorite color!

Video Break:

While we’re all here slogging away through winter, EN’s Gillian Warner is off on another adventure, this time to the Southern Hemisphere. Check out her latest post:

FEI Publishes Olympic and Paralympic Rankings for Paris 2024

By on Jan 3, 2024 9:30 am -

The equestrian sports at Paris 2024 will take place at the Palace of Versailles.

Following the end of the qualification period at December 31, 2023, the FEI has published the Olympic and Paralympic Rankings which are used as the basis for the individual qualification slots for Paris 2024, and where relevant for reallocation and composite team purposes as per the qualification systems inherent to each discipline. Below is the update as it pertains to the sport of eventing. All other information from the FEI regarding Paris can be found here.

Eventing Update

Overall quota: 65 Athlete/Horse Combinations – 16 Teams (48 Athlete/Horse Combinations) & 17 Individual Athlete/Horse Combinations)

16 NOCs that have obtained a Team quota place (subject to meeting relevant requirements – NOC Certificate of Capability to be confirmed by January 8, 2024): France (as host nation), Germany, United States of America, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Italy.

The above NOCs have until February 5, 2024 to confirm their Team quota place with the exception of France (as host country) who is required to confirm by January 8, 2024.

Once the Teams have been confirmed (including any required reallocation process February/March 2024), only NOCs that have not accepted a Team quota place will be eligible to obtain Individual quota places, based on the FEI Olympic Ranking for Eventing published today (note: this ranking list does not include individuals from team qualified federations). Important to note an NOC can qualify for a maximum of two individual places in Eventing (only one per NOC in Jumping and Dressage), either through their FEI Olympic Group or through the overall FEI Olympic Ranking, or both.

The FEI Olympic Ranking – Eventing is limited to the best four results per Athlete/Horse combination in the qualifying events, within the period from January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023.

An NOC can therefore earn up to two individual quota places via the FEI Olympic Group Rankings with 14 Individual Quota places allocated via the FEI Olympic Group Rankings and three Individual Quota places allocated via the overall FEI Olympic Ranking. See links and current nations eligible for Individual quota places below, however, depending on the reallocation of unused Team quota places and/or should any nations decline their Team slot (deadline 5 February 2024), or not meet the requirements, the reallocation process for unused Team quota places would have an impact on the nations listed below.

The following nations have qualified one or two individual slots for Paris. This list is, however, subject to change should any of the nations listed in the team list above decline their spot or not meet relevant requirements.

Olympic Ranking – Group A: Denmark (1) and Finland (1)
Olympic Ranking – Group B: Spain (1) and Austria (1)
Olympic Ranking – Group C: Lithuania (1) and Hungary (1)
Olympic Ranking – Groups D & E*: Chile (1), Argentina (1), Ecuador (2)
Olympic Ranking – Group F: South Africa (1) and Morocco (1)
Olympic Ranking – Group G: China (2)
Three highest Ranked: Spain (+1), Finland (+1), Denmark (+1)
TOTAL: 17

A nominated long list is required from each nation by March 28, with final entries due to Paris organizers by July 8. Competitors have until June 24 to obtain any needed final MERs.

[Read more analysis on Olympic qualification from Tilly Berendt here]

Follow along with all of EN’s coverage of the Olympics here.

EN’s pre-coverage of the Paris Olympics in 2024 is brought to you with support from Zoetis — Long Live the Horse.

Wednesday News & Notes from Ocala Horse Properties

By on Jan 3, 2024 12:01 am -

Since Benedictus WS – AKA ‘the checkered horse’ – took to the center line at the U.S. Dressage Finals in Kentucky a couple of months ago, I’ve been ‘checking’ out the plethora of creative clip jobs popping up on social media. As well as the drip effect more commonly seen on cakes, above, I’ve spotted giraffes and zebras, cappuccinos and superheroes, and perhaps appropriately for the beginning of a new year, a whole horse dedicated to the signs of the zodiac:

Whatever your chosen style, go eventing.

U.S. Weekend Preview

Sporting Days Farm January Horse Trials I (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Wednesday News and Reading

New year, new job? 5* eventer Kirsty Chabert is looking for a Head Girl/Lad. Find out how to apply.

It’s always a good time to learn from the experts of our sport, which is why it’s worth (re)sharing this throwback article from a clinic with Andreas Dibowski. He talks about the rider’s role in giving their horse the responsibility to get the stride right, developing trust between horse and rider, and how to remain balanced in order to support our horses to be their best – some things to work on as we wait for eventing to kick off in the spring.

I have to admit, my dream of owning a horse doesn’t quite match the reality. Call me naive, but for me, the biggest draw of having my own horse was riding. Don’t get me wrong, I love taking care of him – yep, I even relish my daily fight persuading the ancient wheelbarrow up the impossibly tall muck heap, and poop picking in the dark. What I didn’t realize was that, on top of my responsibilities to my family and other animals, not to mention work, and now my daily horse chores, finding time to ride is like, really hard. Turns out, I’m not alone.

In this interesting insight into the world of cloning, The Washington Post speaks to renowned polo player Adolfo Cambiaso, whose late champion mare was represented on both teams at the Argentine Polo Championship last year in the form of her clones. There’s also an in-depth look inside a horse cloning lab and a visit to the farms where surrogate mares give birth to the next big thing in Argentinian polo breeding. There are obviously ethical questions raised, considerations over the use of clones in competition, and concerns about the long-term risks, not to mention the fact that there are plans for the world’s first genetically modified horse to be born next year.

California State University has teamed up with Wild Horse Fire Brigade to create a five-year fellowship studying wild horses. The aim is to provide education about wild herds in an effort to improve the management of them, and, as well as busting some popular myths and misconceptions, this article provides some interesting links to research demonstrating the benefits America’s wild horses have on the environment, disease control and fighting wildfires. You can find out more about the Wild Horse Fire Brigade here.

If you’re resolved to be more sustainable this year, check out these 50 ways to upcycle your old feed sacks. Number 50 sure came in handy for my New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Sponsor Corner

Let’s talk goals- specifically, goal setting. If you’re not SMART about what your goals are, you’re not setting yourself up for success. Take a look at how to set some SMART goals, equestrian style.

Video Break

The more I do yoga and the more I ride, the more I realize how the two are mutually beneficial, not just in bodily terms, but in the way I connect with my horse, the accuracy of my aids, the power of intention when working with horses… I could go on and on. I do fitness and strength work too, because they’re good for me and help me to improve my yoga and riding, but it’s the yoga and riding that do the most good for all of me. (Please do notice the not so subtle link between yoga and riding I’m unashamedly making here.)

As it’s International Mind-Body Wellness Day today, I’m taking the opportunity to share a yoga for equestrians video created by 5* eventer Emily Hamel. Along with Dr. Tyler Held – writer of EN’s Between the Ears series, Emily hosts The Whole Equestrian podcast – “bridging the gap between riding and wellness”.

And if you’re on board with the whole yoga and riding thing, Adriene Mishler’s annual (totally free) 30 days of yoga is happening on her Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel.

Don’t Miss Michael Pollard on the Equestrian Voices Podcast

By on Jan 2, 2024 2:00 pm -

Here at EN, we’re big fans of one Michael Pollard, who quietly took leave from the sport for almost a decade before recently deciding to get back into horses, in some capacity at least. Michael took some time to sit down with Equestrian Voices podcast host Caroline Culbertson, diving into everything that happened in the most recent years of his eventing career, what matters the most to him, and how horses have saved him time and time again.

It’s a truly vulnerable interview you definitely won’t want to miss. If you prefer to listen in traditional podcast form, you can find the episode online here.

Two Riders Awarded C Square Farm – Excel Star Sporthorses Amateur Scholarships

By on Jan 2, 2024 12:00 pm -

5* rider Courtney Cooper, of C Square Farm and Excel Star Sporthorses, announced late last year an excellent opportunity for amateur riders to come and train with her throughout this year. After receiving dozes of applications, Micki McDaniel and Jen Clapp have been selected as the inaugural winners for this scholarship.

Both winners will receive board for themselves and one horse for a total of 7 days in 2024, including daily lessons on their horses, and the possibility to ride other horses and coaching at an event if they choose to compete while working with Courtney.

Here’s a bit about each winner:

Micki McDaniel and Magic Artist. Photo courtesy of Micki McDaniel.

Micki McDaniel owns Magic Artist, an Irish Sport Horse mare.

Magic and Micki have been partners for 7 years and have competed successfully at T and M/T levels. They live outside of Lexington, KY, and Micki grew up in pony club and has been eventing for many years. Micki adds, “We are looking forward to working with Courtney on our goals of making a comeback after a rough year for them in 2023, and moving up to M in the near future.”

Jen Clapp and Sidamo de Brio. Photo by Joan Davis / Flatlandsfoto.

Jen Clapp owns Sidamo de Brio, aka Muggsy, a Connemara/Oldenburg cross gelding

Jen teaches high school English at an urban school just outside Boston, where she has worked for over 25 years. She has ridden all her life, but discovered Eventing while working at the Stoneleigh-Burnham School; her first event was at Kent School in 1992 and she has been a dedicated eventer ever since. She lives on a small farm with her husband, three cats, and a couple of horses. She has owned Muggsy for three years. Jen notes “He has the best brain of any horse I’ve ever had!”

“We look forward to hosting both Micki and Jen and hope everyone will follow along on their adventures,” Courtney wrote in the winner announcement. We’ll be catching up with both scholarship recipients throughout their time with Courtney, so stay tuned for more here on EN!