Apparently the lead-up to Christmas is also ‘vlogmas’ for those thus inclined — and that means plenty of horsey hijinks over on YouTube, some of which are actually pretty fascinating. For example, this video from British eventing vlogger Meg Elphick, who headed up north to Nicola Wilson’s Yorkshire yard to get a lesson from the former European Champion — and to catch up with her about life on the other side of a major accident. It’ll certainly make you feel grateful for all you’ve got as we head into the holidays proper.
EN TRENDS:
Classic Eventing Nation
Horse Sport Ireland Confirms High Performance Eventing Managers for Paris Campaign
Dag Albert and Sue Shortt. Photo courtesy of HSI.
It’s been an admittedly tumultuous period for the Irish eventing team, at least as far as leadership is concerned: after the temporary suspension of team manager Sally Corscadden, who was cleared after an investigation into training practices concluded in July, the team has been operating under the interim management of Swedish Olympian Dag Albert. While the outcome of the case against Corscadden went public in September and HSI, at the time, said that it had not yet confirmed whether or not she would return to her role, in early November, it was announced that Corscadden and HSI would be parting ways, ostensibly amicably, with each thanking one another for a fruitful period spent together — one which saw Corscadden lead the team to team and individual silver medals at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon.
Now, though, with the Paris Olympics inching ever closer, the Irish can sleep a little easier knowing that they’ve once again got a permanent team in place to steer their ship at the Games. Dag Albert has been confirmed as Corscadden’s official successor, taking on the title of High Performance Director for Senior Eventing, while double Irish Olympian manager Sue Shortt will step into the role of Junior Manager, alongside managing Ireland’s Junior and Young Rider eventing teams.
“I am delighted to lead the HSI High Performance Eventing Team to Paris next summer,” says Albert, who stepped into the role in an acting basis in 2022. “Having lead the team to qualification in Pratoni, Italy at the 2022 World Equestrian Games, it is a great honour now to build on that success, and lead the team to the 2024 Olympic Games.”
HSI Chief Executive, Denis Duggan, says: “We are delighted to have secured Dag’s services as High Performance Director for Senior Eventing in what is a very exciting period for Irish eventing. Equally, we are pleased that our existing Young Rider Manager, Sue Shortt will assume additional responsibilities for the Junior Programme while Dag focusses on the Olympic programme over the months ahead.”
“Dag has done a fantastic job at underage level and in the role as Acting Director over the last 20+ months and he has the utmost trust of the organisation and the athletes as we build towards Paris. He has outlined his plans and hopes for the team and has had really productive conversations with our Acting Head of High Performance Sport, Bernard Jackman – we’re really excited for the future and delighted to have him leading the programme, with support from Sue in the Junior and Young Riders programme along with Jane Kinsella who continues as the Eventing Pony manager.”
All High Performance contracts will run until October 2024, after which a review will take place following the closing of the Olympic cycle — but Ireland, which claimed its first five-star win in over fifty years when Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue took Maryland in October, can head into the pivotal season to come with a real hope for an uptick in Olympic fortune.
Saturday Links from World Equestrian Brands
Keeping in fashion with this entire year, Christmas is coming FAST. Granted, up until about a week ago I was convinced that Christmas Day was on Sunday this year when in fact it is not, it is on Monday. So at least I have one more day to clean my house for guests and finish gift shopping than I thought. Did I leave everything to the last minutes (yet again) this year and will I have a spare moment to ride my horse this weekend? TBD.
Links to Start Your Weekend:
How To Be An Informed Auction Buyer
Stable View to Host Alumni Challenge at 2024 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship
Horses drove societal transformation in South America – study
Horse And Jockey Stay Partners, Even After The Track
Sponsor Corner:
When it comes to saddle pads, it doesn’t get any better than combining velvet and sheepskin 😍🐑 Head to worldequestrianbrands.com to create your custom Mattes pad.
Morning Viewing: I would have through Santa would ride through Badminton on a horse, but I guess bikes have become pretty essential to eventing too.
Going South: SMART Goals, Equestrian Style
As we count down to the New Year, it seems fitting to talk about our goals for the next season, particularly as equestrians flock to warmer climes in search of adventure and improvement. In order to make the most of starting out 2024 in the horse capital of the world, i.e. Ocala, set goals for your trip before you leave. Don’t be intimidated – your goal could be as simple as “don’t fall off” (a goal I definitely did NOT achieve last time I went south for the winter!).
We’re taking the SMART acronym for goal-setting and making it applicable to every equestrian who goes south this winter, or to anyone who is planning out their 2024 season, really. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. You’ll find a few slight variations out there. Some people like to replace Attainable with Achievable and Relevant with Realistic, but the acronym still achieves the same thing: a goal that challenges you, pushes you slightly outside of your comfort zone, but is still realistic in the time frame available to you.
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Specific: I want to decrease my dressage score.
Right off the bat, many people make rookie mistakes with their goals. They tend to set a goal as something like “I want to improve my riding” or “I want to have a successful horse show.” But what does that really mean? Is a successful horse trial one where you come home with a blue ribbon or score better than before, or maybe one at which you just had a great time? If you want to improve your riding, do you mean in all three phases or just a faster time on cross country?
A specific goal is one that gives a concrete benchmark to work towards. So, instead of saying, “I want to improve my riding,” try a goal such as “I want to decrease my dressage score.” Decreasing your dressage score is a specific action you can take that will improve your overall riding performance.
Measurable: I want to decrease my dressage score by five points.
Okay, you’ve chosen the path you want to take to improve your riding. But what does decreasing your dressage score mean? Are you happy with a half point lower? Four points lower? At the end of the day, you could spend your entire life working towards a lower and lower score. How do you know when it will be enough?
Your goal has to be measurable. To know if your goal is measurable, ask yourself – how will I know if I achieve my goal? “I want to decrease my dressage score by five points” gives you a hard number to work towards. Whether or not you’ve achieved your goal is black and white. You’ve either decreased it by five points while you’re in Ocala or you haven’t. You’ll also know if you’re making good progress towards your goal or going in the wrong direction.
Attainable: I want to decrease my dressage score by three points.
Goals look different for different people. An attainable goal is customized for where you are in your riding journey. For example, my attainable goal for my OTTBs first horse trial was “not fall off…” but we’re all at different points in our eventing journey.
Look back on how long it took you to get to where you are today. Are you being realistic? Are you expecting perfection? Do you have the time to ride often enough to reduce your dressage score by an entire five points? Do you have the budget for the lessons/clinics required?
In Ocala, you’ll most likely have more time to ride than you would at home, but keep in mind that equestrians as a whole have a tendency to be perfectionists, which sets us up for failure. I once had a trainer tell me that if your goal is perfection, you’re actually being lazy. Perfection will never be attainable. So, when you’re striving for perfection, you’re actually working towards nothing at all. It’s better to set a goal that is realistic but still challenging.
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Relevant: I want to decrease my dressage so I can pursue my dream of getting my USDF bronze medal.
Why do you want to achieve this goal? Is your dressage score preventing you from coming home with a blue ribbon? Do you want to do more pure dressage? If your goal isn’t relevant to the bigger picture, then there’s no point pursuing it.
Before you head down to Ocala, take some time to reflect on the bigger picture. Think about what you want your future to look like. What would make you happy? What would make your horse happy? Are you retiring your horse from eventing and hoping to resell them as a proven dressage horse?
If your goal isn’t relevant to your big picture, pick a different goal.
Time-Bound: I want to decrease my dressage score by three points before I leave Ocala.
Having a time frame for your goal is important. Without one, you could procrastinate your goal and take years to lower your dressage score. But, your time frame still needs to be attainable. For example, it’s unlikely you’ll manage to drop your dressage score after just one lesson or just one horse trial. Luckily, going to Ocala gives you a built-in time frame. Set up your goal so that it is attainable and realistic to accomplish before you leave.
Ocala is a great location to accomplish your goals. You’ll have access to some of the best trainers and clinicians in the world and more time than ever to ride your horse. As a matter of fact, the biggest risk of going south for the winter is that you’ll want to come back year after year.
Disclaimer: Eventing Nation is not responsible for any equestrian who goes to Ocala on our advice, falls in love with the horse capital of the world, and winds up buying a farm. The best we can do is recommend you use Ocala Horse Properties as your realtor.
This article was sponsored by Ocala Horse Properties and their amazing team of realtors. If you’re looking for the perfect Florida horse farm, look no further. Explore their website.
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Friday News & Notes Presented by Stable View
Some of my very favourite events are those that really create a family of the wider team around them — and one of the ways they do that is by treating their volunteers as the essential workers they are and showing their appreciation accordingly. I love that Stable View in Aiken makes sure that their volunteers get a celebration to acknowledge all they do — and boy, are some of those goodies and prizes appealing! If I lived on that side of the pond, doing some volunteer hours there in 2024 would definitely be on my priority list.
News from Around the Globe:
It’s a good day to be a Canadian Mounted Police Horse. When the RCMP put out a call to action to find retirement homes for its Musical Ride mounts, they didn’t quite expect the deluge of interest they’d receive — over a thousand applications in 24 hours, as it happens!
We’ve said some sad farewells to some great horses this year. From Olympic gold medalists to rising star stallions, the logbook of losses covers a wide gamut of talent — and Horse&Hound is looking back at six of them in this piece.
Few things thrill me quite like an unlikely mount succeeding at the upper levels. Or, to put it simply: PONIES. In DRESSAGE. So naturally, all I needed to do was read the first paragraph of this COTH piece to know that I was truly, irreversibly in love with The Hot Topic of SpringSong, who has definitely made himself the hot topic of the sand school. Join me in the fangirl clique.
Hot on Horse Nation: Speaking of dressage, and speaking of things that thrill me — an op-ed, this one on the prolific output of classical dressage armchair quarterbacks on the internet, and why many of their suggestions might be… well, not necessarily rooted in the modern reality of the sport. Give it a read and join in the conversation with your thoughts.
British Eventing Releases 2024 Fixture Calendar
Early season eventing action at beautiful Thoresby Park. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography for BEDE Events.
It’s time to get planning: British Eventing has released next season’s fixtures calendar, which is set to get underway at Epworth (1) in South Yorkshire and Poplar Park in Suffolk on Saturday 2 March 2024.
The 2024 calendar has been particularly challenging due to both Badminton and Burghley moving their dates which has had a huge knock-on implication for the rest of the fixtures for 2024 and 2025. BE has worked hard with organisers to create the most fair and balanced schedules as possible.
Despite the challenges, there are plenty of positives to focus on including the welcome return of Weston Park who will run on 6-7 April, offering classes from Novice to Advanced, which will no doubt be very popular with members.
There will also be several exciting new grassroots additions to the calendar, including two new events in Scotland; Brechin Castle in Angus (BE80-BE100) and Oatridge in West Lothian (BE80-BE100), while in the South West, BE welcomes Kingston Maurward in Dorset (BE80-BE100).
Regional Championships will continue at venues across the country acting as a pathway to the NAF Five Star BE80 Championships at Bramham and the Voltaire Design BE90 and BE100 Grassroots Championships at Badminton.
The British Eventing Leagues will also continue to run across BE80 – BE100 in 2024, including the Newcomers league for those in their first season competing within these height categories. A performance-based prize fund of £10,000 prize fund continues to be allocated to them with prize money being paid out bi-monthly.
The popular GoBE classes will also be available across multiple venues. GoBE BE80 – BE100 classes will continue to require no membership fee payable and offer unpublished results across all levels.
Some other changes to the calendar include an additional day of cross country on the Friday at Cirencester (1) while Oxstalls (1) will replace Goring Heath for 2024 on the Easter weekend. Oasby (1) in March will offer extra Intermediate opportunities for the membership.
For the second year running, Chatsworth will host the British leg of the FEI Nations Cup in May, and in addition to this, BE is grateful for the organisers of Epworth (2) stepping up as a permanent replacement for Speetley in June.
Osberton International (1) is a replacement for Rockingham with classes running from BE100 to Intermediate, CCI2*S, CCI3*S & CCIP2*.
We have also seen some calendar moves this year including Bovington moving to 20-21 April, Tweseldown (2) moving to 10-12 May, Little Downham (2) has moved to 3-4 August, Hopetoun has moved to 3-4 August with Regional Championships, and Chard Equestrian has moved to 31 August-1 September.
Due to reasons beyond the control of the Organisers, South of England has had to move to 21- 22 September for 2024 only, and sadly this means that for one year South of England will not host any FEI classes. A replacement will be announced early in the New Year.
The Fixtures Committee have circulated an Expression of Interest (EOI) to existing Organisers in the hope that these valuable MER opportunities can be replaced. This move was enabled due to the organisers of Munstead kindly agreeing to move to the last week in September to help South of England, a splendid example of organisers working together to give members the best opportunities as possible.
The organisers of Horseheath, Floors Castle, Richmond, Speetley, Somerford Park and Warwick Hall are unable to run this year for various reasons, but we trust that the exciting additions to the calendar will make up for those lost.
Numbers of key classes
- 11 events with advanced classes
- 38 events with Intermediate classes
- 5 events with 1*S classes
- 13 events with 2*S classes
- 14 events with 3*S classes
- 11 events with 4*S classes
- 5 events with 2*L classes
- 4 events with 3*L classes
- 3 events with 4*L classes
- 4 events with P2*S classes
- 6 Regional Championships
- 19 105 classes
- 11 80u18 classes
- 15 18u90 classes
- 13 18u100 classes
- 13 18uN classes
- 106 GoBE cross country days
View the fixtures calendar here. Please note that the website is updating at the moment and will take time for all the fixtures to upload.
In the meantime you can view the full fixtures calendar and further details of which classes are running on each day here.
Catch Up on the London International Horse Show
There’s always so much action at the London International Horse Show, which ran this year from the 13th-18th of December. From 5* FEI Jumping, Driving & Dressage World Cups, and perfect opportunities for shopping, it’s certainly been an event on my bucket list.
Until I can make it abroad to enjoy in person, we’ve followed along with Horse&Country as well as ClipMyHorse. As the live action is winding down, there are still plenty of opportunities to live vicariously through social media posts…
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum Lead the Way for Eventers in 2023 USEF Award Nominations
Photo by Tilly Berendt.
US Equestrian is pleased to announce the 2023 Horse of the Year and Equestrian of the Year nominees. The International and National Horses of the Year will be announced at the 2023 SmartPak/USEF Horse of the Year Awards Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 13, and the International and National Equestrians of the Year will be announced at the 2023 Pegasus Awards Dinner on Sunday, Jan. 14, at the 2024 US Equestrian Annual Meeting in Louisville, Ky.
Horses of Honor and Equestrians of Honor are nominated by their USEF affiliate organization or USEF breed or discipline committee, and the finalists are selected by the USEF Awards Committee. The final Horses of the Year and Equestrians of the Year are determined by member voting.
Voting is open now through 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 29. Click here to vote now. Please note that you must be logged in to your USEF account to vote. After submitting your selections, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your vote. You must confirm your ballot in order for your votes to count!
[Click here to cast your votes]
Leading the way to represent the eventing sector of the sports are Land Rover Kentucky 5* winners Tamie Smith (nominated for International Equestrian of Honor) and the Ahearn and Markell family’s Mai Baum (nominated for National Horse of Honor). Not to be left out and also nominated are California-based para driver Tracy Bowman, who’s also heavily involved in eventing and has trained riders up through the 4* level, and her superstar horse, Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars (nominated for International Horse of Honor).
Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tamie Smith:
The William C. Steinkraus Trophy is presented to an equestrian competing in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing, or show jumping.
Tamra “Tamie” Smith started off 2023 strong, finishing first, second, and fifth in the Galway Downs International Spring CCI4*-S. She partnered with Elliot V to finish third in the Twin Rivers Spring International CCI4*-S. Smith earned a major victory with Mai Baum at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian CCI5*-L, becoming the first American to win the event since 2008 and the first female to win since 2011. The win also secured them the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian. The pair then finished third in the CCIO4*-S at the CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival and helped secure a silver medal for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team.
Later in the year, Smith and Kynan were second in The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI4*-S before being named as the Traveling Alternate for 2023 Pan American Games in Santigo, Chile. Smith racked up second, fourth, and fifth in the Twin Rivers Fall International CCI4*-S. She closed out her season with a sixth-place finish in the USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National Championship at Galway Downs.
Smith is currently ranked 27th on the FEI Eventing World Athlete Rankings, having reached a career high of fifth earlier in the year. Outside of competition, Smith contributes to the sport by serving on the USEF Eventing Athletes Working Group (2018-present).
Tracy Bowman (with Jolie Wentworth) and Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars. Photo by Sherry Stewart.
Tracy Bowman:
The Becky Grand Hart Trophy is presented to international-level non-Olympic athletes.
Tracy Bowman is one of the world’s top para driving athletes with her Welsh Pony gelding Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars. The duo won the individual gold medal at the 2021 FEI Para Driving World Championship and aimed to defend their title at the 2023 FEI Para Driving World Championship. To prepare for the prestigious event, Bowman and “Lars” trained and competed in Europe throughout the summer. They won each national para combined driving event that they entered in the lead up to the world championship.
Bowman and Lars had a dominant performance at the 2023 FEI Para Driving World Championship. They led the Grade 1 competition from start to finish to earn the individual gold medal, winning the driven dressage and cones phases and finishing second in the marathon phase. Bowman and Lars also aided the U.S. Para Driving Team in clinching the team silver medal to conclude a fantastic event.
Bowman contributed to the USEF Driving Sport Committee, advising on the addition of para driving to the USEF Combined Driving Athlete Pathway Program and a USEF Para Driving National Championship. Outside of para driving, Bowman is an active supporter of the eventing community in California as the owner of Kismet Farm, and she has trained athletes to the CCI4* level.
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Alex Jeffery.
Mai Baum:
The striking Mai Baum earned an impressive string of results in 2023. Mai Baum and Tamie Smith began the season on the West Coast with a win in the Galway Downs International Spring CCI4*-S. They traveled east for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ CCI5*-L. The pair added nothing to their dressage score of 24.2 to earn a historic victory, becoming the first American combination to win the event since 2008, and Smith being the first female to win since 2011. The win also secured them the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian.
Next, Mai Baum and Smith headed to Aachen, Germany, for the prestigious CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival. The pair then finished third in the CCIO4*-S as the highest-placed American combination and helped secure a silver medal for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team. Despite being 17 years old, Mai Baum, or “Lexus” as he is known in the barn, proved that he is a talented U.S. eventing horse who continues to earn top results around the world.
Tracy Bowman (with Jolie Wentworth) and Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars. Photo by Sherry Stewart.
Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars
Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars has a prolific record in the discipline of para driving. The 2009 Welsh Pony gelding won team and Grade II individual gold at the 2018 FEI Para Driving World Championship for the Netherlands with his previous owner. In 2021, Tracy Bowman purchased “Lars” and quickly formed a partnership. That year, they clinched Grade I individual gold at the FEI Para Driving World Championship. In 2023, Bowman had her sights set on defending their title.
Lars and Bowman trained and competed in Europe throughout the summer to prepare for the 2023 FEI Para Driving World Championship. They won each national para combined driving event that they entered in the lead up to the international event. Lars and Bowman demonstrated their skills at the World Championship by leading the Grade I competition from start to finish. The pair won the driven dressage and cones phases and finished second in the marathon phase on their way to earning the Grade I individual gold medal—Lars’s third consecutive para driving individual gold medal. Lars and Bowman also helped the U.S. Para Driving Team in taking home the team silver medal to conclude an impressive performance on the world stage.
Of course, a whole slew of horses and riders are also nominated, so be sure to check out all the nominees before casting your vote! Click here to read more about them.
Thursday News & Notes Presented by Achieve Equine
Festive! Photo by Emma Lockwood.
Every year around this time, I tell myself that I’m going to get a bunch of silly crap like Santa hats and tinsel for my horses and embarrass the hell out of them with a proper holiday photo shoot. And every year, without fail, I reach the week of Christmas having completely forgotten to do so in the chaos of the season, and I am filled with deep regret. So, for Christmas this year, if somebody would like to send me a hat with holes for horse ears, I would really appreciate it, and will return the favor with an absurd 2024 photo shoot.
News From Around the Globe:
The 2024 USEA Emerging Athletes U21 National Camp is just a few weeks away, and all over the country, young riders are preparing for their trip to Temecula, California, to participate in this year’s prestigious week-long academy led by U.S. eventing legend David O’Connor from Jan. 2-6. After five regional camps took place over the course of the summer of 2023, the EA21 Task Force sat down and hand-selected 18 participants from across all five camps to attend this year’s national camp. [Meet The 2024 EA21 Riders]
People who are living my holiday photo shoot dream: A Full Gallery of Holiday Pets
Hot on Horse Nation: Thoroughbred Logic — Making Productive Accommodations
Who loads up their 25-year-old Thoroughbred and their 10-year-old chestnut Thoroughbred mare and embarks on a ride across the country? Sixty-seven-year-old Valerie Ashker, that’s who. This isn’t her first ride across the United States either, as she undertook her first ride across the country in 2016 alongside partner Peter Friedman to raise awareness of the versatility of the off-track Thoroughbred. The journey was 3,000 miles, mostly along U.S. 50, and took roughly six months. They’re planning to do it again in spring 2024. [Across The Country on an OTTB]
Do you enjoy the incredible content from Noelle Floyd? We know we do, and in order to help them learn more about their equestrian fans to make more incredible articles and learning opportunities for the future, we have a short quiz for you to fill out. [NF Quiz]
Sponsor Corner: Ever wonder what the functions of each of a horse’s legs are? Well take a listen 
as Dr. Hilary Clayton gives you the inside scoop on how they all work!
A Quick OTTB Flat Lesson from Phillip and Olivia Dutton
One of the most important skills an event horse can have is adjustability — the ability to go forward and come back, in balance and in tune with the rider. Tune in for an excerpt from a recent lesson Phillip Dutton gave his daughter, Olivia, on the 6-year-old OTTB, Reese. You might find a thing or two to practice on your next ride!
