Classic Eventing Nation

Friday Video Break: Riding with the Reddens

By on Dec 15, 2023 2:30 pm -

In case you missed it, Horse & Country has a brand new series ready for you to binge! Riding with the Reddens is the latest creation from Horse & Country, featuring one family as they pursue their goals of becoming top riders. The show features 6 full episodes following the journeys of cousins Abigail Bennett and Emma Redden. Through a series of highs and lows, the Redden family learns what it means to be a part of equestrian sport as they, with the help of 5* rider and Olympian Kyle Carter and their trainer, Madeleine Scott, chase their dreams,

The first episode of the series is available in full above, and you can watch the full series with your H&C+ membership or a season pass here.

Between the Ears with Erin Kanara

By on Dec 15, 2023 9:30 am -

It seems like these days we look at each other’s lives through the lens of a highlight reel. We get to see the incredible trips, the best jumps, and the moments that we’re proud enough of to put on social media. What we don’t talk about is how much pressure this adds to athletes on both ends of the news feed.

Riders, whether professional or not, are made to feel like they ‘have to’ post something that makes them look cool and successful. Then, as we consume this content, we are stuck with the disillusioned perception that the sport is easy and that if you’re not succeeding, then maybe you aren’t cut out for it. I would like to take this opportunity to go ‘between the ears’ of some of the riders that make up our Eventing Nation and work to understand some of the real challenges this industry presents.

On this edition of Between the Ears, I caught up with Erin Kanara (you may have formerly known her as Erin Sylvester). Erin has ridden at the Advanced and 5* levels on several different mounts and currently runs her training business, ES Eventing, out of Cochranville, PA. Erin had a beautiful baby girl almost two years ago and is already getting back after upper-level competition. I got a chance to talk to Erin about her journey, how she is navigating motherhood, and her insights on how to mentally approach the sport of eventing.

To read more “Between the Ears” interviews, click here.

Erin Kanara and Campground. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Can you tell me a little about how you started your journey in Eventing?

I grew up in Massachusetts, in a town called Hingham, south of Boston. By chance, I took my first few riding lessons from Elizabeth Iorio. Elizabeth is part of the family that owns Apple Knoll Farm, where they hold recognized events in Area I. After learning a lot of my fundamentals from Elizabeth, I started taking lessons from Adrienne Iorio. Elizabeth and Adrienne are the ones who got me into Pony Club and eventing. I probably seemed a bit like a hooligan because I was pretty untrained, had my ponies at home, and just kind of found my way while taking lessons here and there.

When I got to college, I moved to Area II to go to the University of Delaware and to ride at True Prospect Farm. Riding with Phillip Dutton and then later with Boyd Martin, I started to ride and train more consistently than I ever did growing up. I have since stayed in the area and now run my own business, ES Eventing, in Cochranville, PA.

Has there ever been a time that you’ve lost your confidence in riding and competing?

I had a baby girl almost two years ago. I rode through a good portion of the pregnancy, but I stopped jumping about halfway through and just stuck to riding horses that I trusted and knew were safe. When I got back into riding after I had my baby, I started to lose some of my confidence, mostly jumping big jumps. My strength wasn’t where it was before I gave birth, and I didn’t realize it until I started to feel like myself again.

I honestly feel like it’s taken almost a year and a half to get back to my reaction time riding, which you don’t quite know is gone when you’ve lost it. I kept thinking, ‘What’s happening with my body right now’ and couldn’t seem to get my feel back until I started practicing more. Every cross-country course I went around began to feel a little better—a little better, a little better. Looking back, it makes sense because I ended up going almost a year without jumping big jumps, but as a lifelong equestrian, I was surprised at how I was affected by the time off.

As a new Mom, have you found yourself contemplating the safety of our sport any more than you used to?

Erin Kanara and Paddy The Caddy. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

I’ve always been someone who tries to practice safe training and safe competition, one hundred percent of the time. I think, if anything, my understanding and recognition of that have become more clear. When you’re leaving the start box to go around a five-star, you think for that split second of everyone you love, and that’s when I think about my baby girl. After a moment of appreciation, I switch to being on task because staying focused is part of what keeps me safe.

I have also always been a big believer in having the proper safety gear. I had a rotational fall forever ago on a training-level horse while I was wearing a helmet with a brim. The brim came down and broke my nose, and I had a laceration between my eyes, so now I always go cross country, even schooling, in a Charles Owen Skull Cap. I also never jump a cross-country jump without a body protector, and my body protector of choice is the USG Flexi Motion Body Protector! Having the right equipment, staying on task, and focusing on how I can ride safely helps mitigate most of the thoughts about danger.

How do you prevent burnout?

I think we all go through times when we feel like we can’t quite get ahead of the curve of burnout. I run a training operation on top of my competition horses, and I have my family too. The inherent diversity in my jobs and roles helps me to keep a little bit of balance. When something isn’t working out, I usually have other things to focus my energy and time on. Sometimes I think people get burned out because they do so much of the same thing. Of course, I have a lot on my plate, but it opens my life up to stay interesting, and I don’t often feel burnt out.

What do you think is one of the biggest obstacles that you’ve had to overcome in the sport on the way to your biggest accomplishment?

On a general level, I would say riding cross-country comes naturally to me, while my polish with dressage and show jumping is not as natural. I’ve ridden a lot of thoroughbreds, and it’s much different than riding a European-bred horse. So I’m always working on my skills in those two phases. I’d like to think that my greatest accomplishments are still yet to come. I have a few young horses that I’m excited about- so the challenge is to get to that point with them. I’m not big on rushing horses toward outcome goals. I want them to be super strong and confident at a level before I move them up. So I am staying patient with the group I have now and looking forward to the future.

What advice would you give to someone in the sport who’s currently facing adversity, be it a lame horse, an injury, or some form of setback?

I feel like I run into this a lot with the young riders that I help. When you are faced with a setback, you just have to kind of take a deep breath and take a beat. See what you can do with this time. Maybe focus on some younger horses. If you just have one horse, maybe you can take that moment and work for someone different or go to a different location and kind of make the most of what you have.

Erin Kanara and Campground. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Sometimes, what feels like a setback could just turn into a silver lining for you and you don’t even know it. Disappointments are frequent in the sport of eventing, and being able to navigate disappointment is what makes the people who are great riders great. Things that people might consider ‘bad’ actually build resilience and the ability to be adaptable.

When I was just out of college, I had a sweet little Thoroughbred that I did my first advanced on. He was an angel, and I was super proud that we did it, but he had no business going advanced. At the time, I had another young horse, Potter, who was struck by lightning in the field and passed away. Within a couple of weeks, my other horse who was just getting up to preliminary, had a major injury that was going to set him back at least a year and potentially end his career completely.

I was devastated. I went from having a couple of exciting horses to suddenly feeling like I needed to start from scratch. During that time, I had a friend call me who had a horse that she had foxhunted a bit, and his owner wanted to sell him. She said he was kind of crazy but she thought there might be something to him. That horse ended up being No Boundaries, or Bucky, as we called him in the barn, who was owned by Jill Tallman and was my first five-star campaigner. Bucky had a very crazy streak in him, which was probably why he was sometimes so wild on the flat, but he was a cross-country machine.

I was beyond lucky to experience and achieve all that I did with him! To date, he’s been the best five-star horse that I have had, and he came up by chance when I was sitting there thinking, what the heck am I going to do? It’s so important in those moments to take a deep breath, keep your eyes open, keep connections coming, and something might just come along that turns things around for you.

When faced with adversity or disruption in your grand plan, I think it’s also important to remember that your mission is not only yours and that your support team, family and friends, owners, and staff are all behind you and share your triumphs and disappointments. I am so lucky to have an amazing core group of family, friends, owners, sponsors, and staff, and knowing that they are a part of the journey and supportive in the face of adversity helps me see the silver lining and find a path forward to strive for better riding and greater results!

Friday News & Notes Presented by Stable View

By on Dec 15, 2023 12:03 am -

That feeling when you get your gold medal on your ex-eventing horse. Photo courtesy of Whitney Grabe.

There aren’t many horses, much less thoroughbreds, who perform at both the highest levels of Eventing as well as Dressage, but Whitney Grabe has one. I saw this photo posted by Whitney this week, and reading her story made me smile. Military Mind only raced three times, but he competed successfully through the CCI4* level with Whitney in the irons, and upon retirement from his second career, they embarked on a Dressage journey. Now they have achieved their gold medal together, competing at Grand Prix, which is almost unheard of from a Thoroughbred these days, and always tugs at my TB loving heart strings. Way to go Whitney!

Major International Events

London International Horse Show (Wednesday December 13th – Monday December 18th) [Website] [Tickets] [Program] [Scoring]
How to Watch: [UK] [FEI Classes: FEI TV (via ClipMyHorse.TV)] [Non-FEI Classes: H&C+]

News From Around the Globe:

We’re all devastated by the loss of Great Meadow International for next year’s calendar. The organizers said they were unable to come to an agreement with the Great Meadow Foundation, the nonprofit organization that oversees the 374-acre equestrian park, over maintenance of the cross-country footing in time to plan for next year’s event. The drought this summer in Virginia was extensive, and officials for the foundation refused to allow the use of irrigation for the eventing competition, resulting in a large amount of riders withdrawing due to the hard ground.  [Competition for Resources Blamed for Great Meadow Cancellation]

Scientific advancements in concussion studies have made equestrian helmets safer than ever. An international panel of experts assembled by the FEI to better protect riders from head injuries released a report on its work this week that sets an ambitious, “aspirational” goal: Cutting the rate of riding-related concussions in half by strengthening equestrian helmet testing standards, and beginning to get those new standards—and new helmets that meet them—in place internationally within the next five years. [FEI Helmet Group Sets Ambitious Safety Targets]

After you and your horse have enjoyed some well-deserved rest, check out this serpentine exercise from Phillip Dutton. For one of your first cross-country schooling sessions preparing for next season, it’s important to work more on rideability than anything else, and this exercise certainly accomplishes that! [Phillip Dutton’s Serpentine Exercise]

Hot on Horse Nation: Thoroughbred Logic — Starting Over Fences

The last Olympic long-format was run in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and the last Kentucky long-format was in 2005. After the transition to the current eventing format, the USEA Classic Three-Day Task Force was born by supporters of the traditional format who felt that its influence on the sport was critical in the education of horses and riders. This year, the USEA Classic Three-Day Task Force gathered together to host an open forum to discuss the benefits of participating in and hosting a Classic Series event. [Standout Quotes from Classic Format Discussion]

 

Thursday Video: Go Eventing with Renkum Corsair

By on Dec 14, 2023 7:20 pm -

There’s few things I’m missing more right now than a day out eventing, whether that’s on reporting duties or with my sweet, recalcitrant mare Bella Boo Boo Bopsy Pops (to use her full and official name). While I’m stuck in rainy, dreary England, there’s little chance of any of that sort of action before March — so I’m living vicariously through Elisa Wallace instead. Join her — and me, indirectly — for a spin around the Open Intermediate at Rocking Horse with Renkum Corsair.

Don’t Miss the Deadline for Courtney Cooper’s Amateur Scholarship

By on Dec 14, 2023 1:13 pm -

Courtney Cooper and Excel Star First Class. Photo by Shelby Allen.

It’s long been a topic of conversation. Amateur riders – the many cultural definitions of that term – have long been identified as the most overlooked subset of equestrians. This is a dilemma that transcends discipline, and within the sport of eventing there remains a yawning gap between the developing rider pipeline and the professional ranks and the amateur rider.

To be fair, options for the adult amateur community do exist. The USEA also has an Adult Rider Committee dedicated to ensuring amateur riders, who make up the bulk of membership, have a voice and a seat at the table. The USEA also offers some grant opportunities for which amateurs are eligible, including the newly-formed Kim Meier “Kick On” Memorial Grant.

In the opinion of many, however, there can never be enough opportunity for everyone – and Courtney Cooper of C Square Farm and Excel Star Sport Horses agrees. Last week, Courtney sent out an exciting press release: she’s decided to offer two amateur riders the opportunity to come and train with her for 7 days throughout the upcoming year. To make the award as amateur-friendly as possible, Courtney’s offering the option to split the training up into multiple weekends or other agreeable chunks of time.

“The time can be spread into multiple long weekends, or taken all at once,” Courtney wrote in the release. This will provide an opportunity for learning and mentorship with a five-star rider. The riders will have access to all Courtney’s program and facilities have to offer, including full courses of Jump4Joy jumps, top-of-the line footing, cross country schooling, dressage training, and horse management.

Courtney knows the grind of the amateur. Sales has always been Courtney’s jam – she first started out selling Cutco knives during college, following that up with a full-time career as an insurance agent.

Courtney Cooper and Who’s A Star. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

“I know what trying to balance everything is like, because I’ve done it. I’ve done trot and gallop sets on the shoulder of the road, in the dark, with a head lamp,” she says. “I had a full time career before I did horses full time, and I can’t imagine being a mom or dad and trying to do that as well as a full time career and ride and the balance needed for all of it. A couple of my amateurs get up at 5 am to ride their horses before they go to their day jobs so they can be with their kids after work for their children’s activities. I just felt like amateurs needed a break and some support.”

Amateurs are a vital part of the sport, and supporting them should be second nature to the professionals. “They keep the sport somewhat affordable in this country. Without them, there are a lot of FEI classes that wouldn’t run because they don’t have the lower levels to protect and finance the upper levels. The amateurs may not be filling the entries of the upper FEI level classes, but they support all the upper levels with their entries and therefore support the upper level riders — not to mention they do the bulk of volunteering .”

So what’s the skinny on this opportunity?

Courtney will provide lodging for the recipients and board for one horse for a total of 7 days, taken a week at a time or over multiple shorter periods. The scholarship can take place either in Aiken, SC or Nottingham, PA The recipients will receive daily lessons from Courtney on their own horse(s), with a potential to ride some other horses if appropriate. Recipients may also compete during their time and get support at the competition

More details below.

Who’s Eligible:

Anyone who makes the majority of their living through means other than horses. We will not hold to the strict definition of an Amateur held by the USEA/USEF, so if you teach some lessons but have another career, please apply! You should be actively competing in the last 12 months at the BN level or higher.

How to Apply:

Please fill out an application at this link.

Applications should be submitted by December 15, 2023. Courtney and a panel of her Amateur clients will review applications and choose a winner by December 31, 2023.

What’s Not Included:

  • Transportation to and from C Square Farm
  • Outside facility fees
  • Entries to events

Thursday News & Notes Presented by Achieve Equine

By on Dec 14, 2023 12:03 am -

Holy cow what a view from Sweden! Photo by Anna Heander.

Yesterday was International Day of the Horse, and I have to say that my local feed store celebrated in the best possible way, by offering $10 off bags of feed! The place was packed, obviously, with all the horse people buying their Christmas presents to themselves with a reduced feed bill. I personally celebrated by allowing my 22-year-old-won’t-retire horse Nyls to keep his ears fluffy for his second clip, and he looks both adorable and insane, but he’s happy, and that’s all that matters.

Major International Events

London International Horse Show (Wednesday December 13th – Monday December 18th) [Website] [Tickets] [Program] [Scoring]
How to Watch: [UK] [FEI Classes: FEI TV (via ClipMyHorse.TV)] [Non-FEI Classes: H&C+]

News From Around the Globe:

No matter how much legislation we put in place, we always have to ask ourselves, how do we encourage good decision making from riders?  Whether it was with regard to deciding when to move up or when to continue on if things go awry at a competition, or implementing biosecurity practices, encouraging riders to make good decisions was a huge point of discussion during this year’s U.S. Eventing Association Annual Meeting and Convention, read for the recap and the details here. [Legislating Decision Making]

While the powers of AI seem to be growing by the day, it seems there is still one area that it can’t quite figure out: horses. From five legged equines to heads that seem to be suffering from seriously weird deformations, some of the horse images that AI create are truly hilarious, and worth a good morning chuckle. [AI-Generated Horse Fails]

Archaeologists have used radiocarbon dating to analyze the oldest true wooden frame saddle in East Asia, revealing how the rise of Mongolian steppe cultures was likely aided by advances in equestrian technology. In fact, this saddle signifies the rise of all culture, because what other than the horse helped humans travel the earth, form armies, and conquer new areas? [World’s First Saddle Discovered]

We all do our best to respect ourselves and believe in our abilities, but sometimes it can be a bit harder than we might expect. As a matter of fact, it’s been proven that we respect and believe in others more than we respect and believe in ourselves! After all, you’ve probably never said to a friend after a disappointing ride, “You’re so stupid, what were you thinking”, but there’s a pretty good chance you’ve said something like that to yourself. It’s been said that if we treat others the same way we treat ourselves we’d never have any friends!! [Pressure Proof with Daniel Stewart]

Sponsor Corner: Buy One Iconic Equestrian™ Original 2-in-1 Saddle Pad, Get One Olympic White Saddle Pad FREE!
Save now through December 31, 2023. Both Dressage and Jumping styles are available.

‘Tis the Season for Neck Straps: London 52’s First Post-Vacation Jump School

By on Dec 13, 2023 2:30 pm -

I kid you not when I tell you that team EN begins Instagram-stalking Laura Collett every year around this time. Cheg clued us in a bit this morning that the time was near, and now we’ve officially been blessed by the patron saint of neck straps with London 52’s first jump school antics after vacation. [Click here to watch the video above on Instagram]

Of course, when you’ve won multiple 5* events and multiple medals, you earn the right to take your training sessions however you see fit. London 52 certainly had another standout year, taking the title at Luhmühlen (that’s three 5* wins in as many starts, beginning with Pau in 2020 and Badminton in 2022). Great Britain may have depth to spare ahead of the upcoming Olympics in Paris, but there’s only one London 52.

If you’re just catching up with us, welcome. No, we typically don’t share every video of a horse enjoying himself after a vacation, but yes, it’s become an annual tradition here on EN. Here’s a look at a few of these posts over the years:

London 52’s Got the Moves
Just a Few London 52 Antics to Brighten Your Day
London 52’s First Jump School Since Tokyo

We’re here for it, Dan, as long as we’re not the ones who have to ride you. Never change.

ERHOTY Final Round: Ballaghmor Class vs. Colorado Blue

By on Dec 13, 2023 12:00 pm -

It’s the battle of the gray boys in the final round of voting to crown this year’s EquiRatings Horse of the Year. After two rounds, which thinned the field from 8 to 2, we now have our top two contenders:

Ballagmor Class

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class add another five-star win to their record. Photo by Libby Law.

Ballaghmor Class tallied his third five-star win this year at Burghley, making him one of only 12 horses in the history of the sport to win three or more. The win came six years after Ballaghmor Class’s first five-star victory. That is one of the longest five-star-winning careers in eventing history (second only to La Biosthetique Sam’s seven-year span between first and last five-star title).

Ballaghmor Class is arguably the most consistent five-star horse of all time, having produced ten top-five placings at the five-star level, including a second-place finish at Badminton this year. His true-to-form consistency this season has given Ballaghmor Class the highest Elo of his career as he climbed with every single 2023 result. After his Burghley win, the 16-YO passed fischerChipmunk to top the Elo table for a while. Ballaghmor Class is, simply put, a five-star warrior and absolute workman.

Colorado Blue

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue: Your 2023 MARS Maryland 5 Star winners! Photo by Sally Spickard.

This year at Badminton, we saw Colorado Blue go head-to-head with Lordships Graffalo in the cross country phase. It was Colorado Blue who was the fastest on the day in those notoriously testing conditions; 10.8 time penalties for him, 11.6 for Lordships Graffalo, and everyone else?: Twenty-one-plus time penalties. The result was a deserved climb up the leaderboard and the first Badminton podium from an Irish combination in 40 years.

Colorado Blue is in fact one of the top-rated cross country horses in the sport. His five-star XC jumping reliability puts him in the top 0.1% of horses worldwide and his five-star speed is among the top 0.05%.

Five months after Badminton, Colorado Blue went on and did it. At Maryland, he jumped double clear (XC and SJ) to produce the first five-star win for Ireland in 58 years. He had added just 1.2 XC time penalties on a day when only one horse was under the time and he was the only double-clear SJ round on the final day.

A classic sporting story – highs (Badminton and Maryland) and lows (Burghley) and when it ended with that big win, we could practically hear the whole eventing world cheer.

Learn more + cast your vote for the champion by Thursday, December 14 by clicking here!

Blood Percentage: We’ve Been Doing It Wrong

By on Dec 13, 2023 9:30 am -

Ballaghmor Class, multi-5* winner for Great Britain’s Oliver Townend. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

One of the most hotly debated topics in modern day eventing centers around the subject of blood percentage: namely, how much blood is the “right” amount for an upper-level horse?
It’s one of those questions where if you ask 10 different people, you’re likely to get 15 different answers. But before you can even begin researching the answer to that question, first you have to ask: is our current standard method of measuring a horse’s blood percentage even accurate?

Historically, a horse’s blood percentage (translated, the amount of Thoroughbred or Arabian lineage found in their pedigree) has been calculated on paper, via its pedigree. To give the most simple example of how this works, let’s say you crossed a Clydesdale with a Thoroughbred. On paper, the blood percentage of the resulting foal would be 50%, because the Clydesdale parent had a blood percentage of zero and the Thoroughbred parent had a blood percentage of 100%.

With warmbloods and sporthorses, however, there are so many generations of part bred or full bred ancestors that these numbers quickly become complex math. Pedigree databases such as Horsetelex, Hippomundo, and Sporthorse Data do the math for you, based on the logged generations of ancestors and their blood percentages, and arrive at an overall blood percentage for the resulting offspring.

With most modern warmbloods and sporthorses, the average calculation tends to be between 40% and 60% blood, with upper level event horses generally trending a bit higher, closer to 50% to 70%.

The Issues with Calculating Blood Percentage

Ballaghamor Class is one horse that actually has unknown lineage on the dam side, making blood percentage calculations impossible. This is not an uncommon issue. Photo by Shelby Allen.

There are two big problems with this method of calculating blood percentage.

First and foremost, many horses – particularly those of Irish descent – have big gaps in their pedigrees where their ancestors were never recorded. Take CCI5* winner Ballaghmor Class for example: we know that his sire was the Holsteiner stallion Courage II, but the only thing that has ever been officially recorded about his dam is her name, Kilderry Place. The rest of her pedigree is not documented, therefore it’s impossible to even begin to come up with an accurate blood percentage for Ballaghmor Class. Cases like this are unfortunately not uncommon.

And then you get to the next problem, which is perhaps the bigger one: the entire basis for the way we’ve always figured blood percentage via pedigree is simply not reliably accurate.

According to Dr. Samantha Brooks, Associate Professor of Equine Physiology at the University of Florida and leading equine genetics researcher, the method for finding a horse’s true and accurate blood percentage just isn’t that simple. To understand why that is, we need to have a better understanding of how genetics work in general.

“All of you out there with a full sibling, I’d like you to picture that sibling,” she explains. “Their hair color, eye color, height, all the things that you recognize as your sibling. Now think of yourself. How many of those traits do you share perfectly with your sibling? Not as many as you might think, right? Yet you have identical pedigrees. If the pedigree told the whole story then all of our full siblings would look like our identical twins.”

With horses as well as with people, every time a parent passes on genetic material to their offspring, they provide half of their genome. However, the specific half, or which gene from each pair gets passed on, is up to chance. The pedigree calculation relies on the average that each parent shares half of its DNA with an offspring. But the real question, and the part that really matters most is: which half?

“That can be a really important detail!” Samantha says. “It comes down to a game of chance, just like a flip of a coin in each generation. Over time, with each round of coin flips, the average can drift quite a long way from that 50/50 estimate in generation 1.”

Is There a Better Way?

Blood percentage has become a critical stat when it comes to event horse suitability, but is there a more accurate way to calculate it? Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

So if simply doing the math of averages based on the horse’s pedigree isn’t necessarily reliable, is there a better and more accurate way? The answer is via genetic testing.
Blood percentage is one of several tests developed by Etalon Equine Genetics as part of their Ancestry series, which provides an in-depth comparison of a horse’s genetic make-up via ancestry and composition analysis.

This testing compares the test subject horse to a large dataset of other horses within various “breeds”, disciplines, and populations around the world, using a “reference” population, one in which the genetics and characteristics have been statistically analyzed and compared to one another for genetic similarity and difference. In addition to blood percentage, the Ancestry series also analyzes traits like genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic composition.

This type of genetic testing has been used in the research world for almost 20 years, and the first broad examination of global horse breeds using genetic ancestry analysis and a large set of genetic markers was published in 2013.

“Using thousands of genetic markers is the key to doing this right.”, Samantha says. “The genome is a big set of data: around 2.7 billion base pairs of code! Dozens or even hundreds of markers just can’t cover all of that genome. You need thousands of markers to really get a good picture of where each segment of the genome likely came from.”

My curiosity was especially piqued on this subject earlier this year when I had an Ancestry test done on one of my own horses, my broodmare by a Thoroughbred stallion out of a Mighty Magic mare.

On paper, she’s around 77% blood, but genetic testing showed her to be more like 67%. For this particular instance, that does seem to track – my mare’s warmblood heritage shines through pretty strongly, and she’s a bit heavier than you would expect for a horse that was 77% blood. Having an actual genetic percentage that’s lower than what’s on paper certainly makes sense in her case, and helps give me a better idea of qualities I would be looking for when shopping for a stallion to breed her to.

Several months ago while on a call with Christa Lafayette, CEO and founder of Etalon Equine Genetics, to discuss my own horse’s results, she seemed very unfazed and unsurprised by the variance. In fact, Christa said that through their genetic testing Etalon has seen variances as large as 30% between the blood percentage that’s on paper versus what the horse actually has genetically.

Other examples come from the CCI5* horses Vandiver and Tsetserleg. On paper, Vandiver has a blood percentage of 67%, but genetic testing shows an actual blood percentage of 71%, which is relatively close.

Tsetserleg, however, is a bit more interesting: his pedigree says that he’s 47% blood, but testing shows that he’s actually 62%. That’s a marked difference.

Examining an extremely popular eventing sire, the Irish Sport Horse Cruising, gives you a hint as to just how these types of variances can end up happening generationally. On paper, Cruising is around 53% blood, but genetically he’s really 66%. If you consider that every ancestor could be even just a little bit inaccurate on paper, you can begin to see how wildly inaccurate the final pedigree calculation may actually be.

What Comes Next?

Boyd Martin’s Olympic and World Championship mount, Tsetserleg, was found to have a higher blood percentage than originally thought through genetic testing. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It also made me wonder: has anyone started keeping statistics regarding the actual blood percentages of upper-level event horses? The age-old argument is “how much is the right amount”, but since we can’t really trust what’s on paper, has any sort of documentation been kept regarding current upper-level event horses?

“Ah, this is what we are all chasing! How to find a good event horse!” Samantha says. “Sadly no, I don’t yet have a comprehensive dataset to test the idea that there should be a perfect mix that will be overrepresented in the elite eventers.”

Key word: “yet”. Samantha and Christa both would love to see some sort of metric or dataset come to fruition and be able to answer that question with certainty. The problem? As with most things, it often comes down to funding.

”I’d love to investigate that,” Samantha says. “But unfortunately there just isn’t enough funding for horse research out there right now. I can say that the availability of this test commercially has provided a fair number of notable examples now shared broadly, and the picture illustrated by those examples suggests that the magic mix might be about 2/3 blood.”

It’s also important to note that there are pros and cons to the blood percentage metric. On one hand, it gives us an idea of how much of a horse’s genome is made up of the breeds known to contribute to athleticism, gallop, and forward-thinking. On the other hand, it doesn’t tell us exactly which genes were transmitted by these blooded ancestors.

Samantha warns that it’s important to keep in mind, particularly for breeders, “These same populations can have a few undesirable traits too” such as poor hoof quality, back issues, smaller frames, or excessively flighty temperaments.

Her statement illustrates the fact that while blood percentage is inarguably a very important metric when it comes to event horses, it’s not the only one that matters. “In the end, blood percentage is also just a more accurate type of estimate. What we really need to know is not just where the genes for athleticism came from, but which genes those are, and which type of each of these genes we need in order to produce stronger, healthier, more successful eventers.”

Samantha went on to explain that the good news is, we have all the genomic technologies needed to identify these genes. The bad news is, scientific research, like most of the things we love about horses, isn’t cheap.

Graphic courtesy of Etalon Dx.

That’s not to say that significant strides haven’t been made, particularly in the last 5-10 years. Etalon Equine Genetics offers other tests that, in combination with their blood percentage testing, could potentially help give a much bigger picture of what other genes the “blood” part of your horse might be contributing. Just to name a few, there are health tests for things like kissing spine, metabolic diseases, and anhidrosis, as well as performance ability tests for traits such as temperament and endurance. These types of tests could be particularly valuable for people looking to source their next top horse, as well as breeders that are striving to produce it.

Still though, additional research is needed to get a more holistic understanding of exactly what a horse’s blood percentage is telling us and how it relates to their potential as an event horse. On that subject, Samantha seems fairly optimistic.

“I think, and admittedly I’m biased, that eventers are the likely candidates to ‘lead the pack’ when it comes to discovering and adopting new scientific technologies like genomics in horse health. We intuitively seek out adventure, know how to manage risk, and can put in the hard work it takes to do something great, be it our sport or scientific research. To all the eventers out there here’s a challenge that needs you: we’ve got to take on the responsibility of supporting and funding scientific research for the sport horse. ”
Part of supporting research and funding is utilizing the tests we already have available to us, which will only serve to increase our understanding of our horses and what traits we should be looking for. Finding out the actual genetic blood percentage of our sporthorses and warmbloods rather than relying on a potentially inaccurate estimate is a solid start in the right direction.

“Investment in scientific research will pay off, in the long term, with new ways to keep our horses healthier and performing at their best, for longer. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we all want most?”

Wednesday News & Notes from Ocala Horse Properties

By on Dec 13, 2023 3:45 am -

Could this be the official teaser for London 52’s annual – iconic – first jump post-holiday video?

We admire him through the eventing season as the classy, talented, 5* winner that he is, but Laura Collett needs her sticky bum pants on when she brings him back into work after his break, that’s for sure.

If you missed last year’s video, you’ll find it here. Sound on for squeaks.

We wait in anticipation for this year’s edition…

In the meantime, we can’t wait to see what Laura’s going as for the ‘Fancy Dress Party Relay’ on Sunday at London International Horse Show, where she’ll ride Dacapo dressed in something “outrageous”. Details of how to watch below.

PS – It’s National Day of the Horse today, so extra treats for our equine pals is like, the law.

U.S. Weekend Preview

It’s that time of year – nothing to add here.

Major International Events

London International Horse Show (Wednesday December 13th – Monday December 18th) [Website] [Tickets] [Program] [Scoring]
How to Watch: [UK] [FEI Classes: FEI TV (via ClipMyHorse.TV)] [Non-FEI Classes: H&C+]

Wednesday News and Reading

Grooms are the essential workers without whom eventing couldn’t function. We’ve partnered with Achieve Equine this year to spotlight the incredible efforts of supergrooms across the industry — and now, we want to know who you think is the greatest of them all. Drop your nominations here by December 27 and your favorite groom could win a ton of great prizes plus bragging rights that’ll sustain them through the off-season.

The story of a mom, a life-size model of a horse, a long hack, and Prince William. Emma Webb is due to arrive at London International Horse Show today after walking 160 miles in 19 days – a journey she’s making in memory of her daughter Brodie, who died in 2020. She hopes to raise awareness of mental ill health by pulling the life-size model of a horse all the way from Chepstow in Wales to the London show venue. A keen rider, Brodie used to attend London International with her mom. Along the way, Emma’s fundraising for charities Riders Minds, which supports the mental health and wellbeing of equestrians, and Papyrus, which works for the prevention of young suicide. There was a royal surprise on the thirteenth day of her trip when Prince William joined the walk to support Emma’s efforts, and to give the horse a pat. You can find out more about Emma’s journey by following Doitforbrodie, and if you’d like to donate, you’ll find the JustGiving page here. [Prince of Wales Joins Fundraising Horse Walk]

After almost a century of campaigning by World Horse Welfare, the live export of horses for slaughter is finally set to end. The Bill has been introduced into UK Parliament and covers cattle, sheep and pigs as well as horses. It’s a huge milestone for World Horse Welfare, whose Chief Executive is “delighted” that the charity’s longstanding work is finally coming to fruition. UK readers can support the Bill by contacting their MP via this easy to use link. The campaign continues in the EU, but animal lovers can celebrate this very clear step in the right direction. [The Long Road to Positive Change]

In celebrity horse dad news, Mark Wahlberg’s been sharing the stress of watching his daughter take to the show jumping ring. It only takes a glance at thirteen-year-old Grace’s IG account to see that she’s a horse girl through and through, and whilst Mark is sweating in the stands, Grace has her sights set on Olympic call- up in the future. You go girl! [Dream Big]

A throwback to a horse who truly was the star of the show. Incomparable in his ability to play a wild horse in the movies (because he was, frankly, uncontrollable), Rex was the first horse to be given the star billing, with his name topping the cast heading above his human co-stars. Described as “the smartest horse” his handler had ever worked with (and he’d worked with a bunch of very smart horses), Rex was as talented as he was vicious. Here’s the fascinating story of this one-of-a-kind actor. [Action!]

Sponsor Corner

It’s giving modern. It’s giving farmhouse. It’s giving Joanna Gaines with an equestrian twist. Ocala Horse Properties is now offering Oaks & Meadows farm for sale! This beautiful 82 acre property is only 20 minutes from WEC and features a stocked pond and a 10-stall barn.

Video Break

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl’s been getting into the Christmas spirit with her little daughter and Olympic champion TSF Dalera, prancing along in passage as they giddy up around the indoor school together. There may not be sleigh bells jingle-ing as they ride in a wonderland of snow, but it’s a pretty darn cute video all the same.