Makenna Rold and Fernhill Imperial, CH-J* dressage leaders. Photo by Sportfot.
Makenna Rold and Fernhill Imperial have taken the early CH-J* lead in the North American Junior & Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park.
Makenna and her 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, which she co-owns with Annette and Michael Rold, represent Area IV. This pair competed at Young Riders last year and improved their dressage score this go-round by three points, besting today’s scoreboard with a 41.9.
It’s a tightly bunched pack heading into cross country, with Emma Johnston and FE Coconut Kiss (42.3) and Megan Traynham and Lord Lombardi (43.2) rounding out the top three spots.
“I was thrilled with Coco today. This is her first time at Young Riders with a ring of this atmosphere and she was absolutely incredible. She gave me 150% and I couldn’t be more proud of her today,” Emma said.
Forty-four riders and eight teams are contesting the CH-J*, which continues with cross country tomorrow. Team Ontario, fielded by Alisa Morrison, Alexis Murray, Annick Niemuller and Emma Johnson, currently hold the lead.
“I think this opportunity is incredible for future eventers,” Alisa said. “It allows both horse and rider to get used to this atmosphere, as well as working with and on a team. It’s been great having such good teammates this year.”
The CH-J* kicks off cross country tomorrow followed by the CICY2*, and time may prove to be the deciding factor. “The course looks great and I’m looking forward to getting out there,” Alexis said. “It’s well built and I think that there are a lot of spaces to make up time or get ahead, which I think will be the separation for teams.”
You can check out yesterday’s CICY2* dressage report here.
Where there are eventers, there are dogs! And they deserve a slice of the limelight. Tag your canine pics with #DogsOfEN on social for inclusion in a future edition!
How cool is it that not just one but two(!) off-track Thoroughbreds are getting on a plane to Rio today under the Team USA banner?
Traveling reserve Lynn Symansky’s mount Donner (racing name: Smart Gorky, Gorky Park – Smart Jane, by Smarten) had six lackluster starts before his connections called it a day. For more on Donner’s secret history, check out an extensive analysis of his pedigree and racing background on EN here.
Like Donner, Boyd Martin’s Olympic mount Blackfoot Mystery didn’t last too long on the track. The Kentucky-bred Thoroughbred (Out of Place – True Mystery, by Proud Truth) had three starts at Hollywood Park in the summer of 2007, none of them anything to write home about. He finished dead last in his first two races, then sixth out of nine in his final attempt.
This video of the second race, a maiden claimer, popped up on Boyd’s blog today, with the note: “We’ve managed to dig up footage of Blackfoot Mystery in action — at the racetrack! He’s #10 (purple silks), and his odds were 40-1. Who would have bet that he’d be heading to the 2016 Olympic Games!”
Kathryn Robinson and Let It Bee (CAN). Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Equestrian Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have just confirmed that Kathryn Robinson and Let It Be, previously named as the reserve horse/rider combination for eventing, will replace Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High, who were officially nominated to the Team on July 14.
From Equestrian Canada:
The athlete and horse replacement was implemented in accordance with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Late Athlete Replacement policy based on veterinary medical grounds concerning O’Hanlon’s declared horse, Foxwood High, a 13-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding owned by John and Judy Rumble.
Following official approval from the FEI, IOC and COC, Robinson – who was the first reserve eventing athlete nominated to the COC — was officially appointed as the substitute for Canada’s four-member eventing team, partnered with Let It Bee, her 15-year-old Westphalian gelding.
Following the replacement, the full Canadian Olympic Team for eventing at the Games is as follows:
Rebecca Howard (Marlborough, UK) and Blithe Hill Farm’s Riddle Master
Colleen Loach (Dunham, QC) and Peter Barry’s Qorry Blue d’Argouges
Jessica Phoenix (Cannington, ON) and Donald Leschied’s A Little Romance
Kathryn Robinson (Kettering, UK) and her own Let It Bee
The narrative of the naming of the Canadian eventing squad has been anything but straightforward. Kathryn was originally named to the team in the public team announcement on July 14, but was later relegated to a traveling reserve after Jessica Phoenix, originally named as the reserve, subsequently lodged and won an appeal to be placed on the team.
After a few days of training camp at Meredyth South in Ocala, the Team USA event horses are loaded up and on the road to Miami, where they’ll board their flight to Rio tonight.
A few troopers from the USEF crew are already in Rio, preparing the horses’ and their riders/grooms’ digs. USEF Director of Sport Programs Will Connell has been blogging daily from the belly of the beast, chronicling the myriad details that go into setting up a temporary home base for elite athletes of both the human and equine variety. You can check out his updates here.
The team itself looks to be fighting fit and ready.
A video posted by Clark Montgomery (@clarkmonty) on
Meanwhile the riders are flying from Orlando to Houston today for USOC team processing — we want photos of you guys in your USA uniforms, don’t disappoint us! — and will then fly to Rio tonight.
The European and Europe-based teams are in travel mode as well, with the first eventing charter of 35 horses scheduled to leave London’s Stansted airport today. Others depart over the weekend from from Liege in Belgium. We’ve quite enjoyed this departure play-by-play from BBC broadcaster Jonathan Agnew at Stansted:
EN’s own intrepid reporter Jenni flies down Wednesday. We’re already in full-on Olympic mode here at Eventing Nation, so keep it locked here for much, much more!
Stars!! They’re just like us!! (Really excited to meet a hippo). Photo courtesy of me stalking Michael Jung on his Facebook page late at night for no particular reason.
I had a great jump lesson yesterday as part of my preparation for Millbrook next week, and it’s always nice to have good eyes on the ground to guide you through different parts of your education. After 11 years of partnership, and 6 years at the Advanced level, Nyls is finally somewhat rideable (and I’m actually finally a decent enough rider), which means that even now, our skills are evolving and changing. You never stagnate once you hit a high level, you just learn how many more things there are to improve upon. What is that saying, every day I learn something new and realize how much I have left to learn? That’s me right now.
Just so we’re clear, you’re not doing anything next weekend, right? The only conceivable thing you can be doing is tuning in to the Olympics, EVEN if you’re competing. For goodness sake, get your schedule set! Jenni knows all the things about Rio, and how to watch it from home. She’ll be covering the event and risking the Zika for you. [How To Watch Olympic Eventing]
Summer is a big time to get young horses started, and have them going out and about. Making a young event horse is challenging stuff, and you have to make sure that you create a confident horse right from the beginning. This starts with your adventures outside the ring, when you’re ready. Courtney Cooper is a big advocate of hacking, and details the ways in which you can get your youngster confidently marching out away from the barn into the scary unknown. [Taking Your Young Event Horse Hacking]
What do you do when you have fear and anxiety about certain aspects of riding? Ask the EquiShrink, of course! One reader sent in a question regarding some equine related PTSD caused by years of riding a very reactive horse, and wants to know how to get over it with the new, calm horse. Seana Adamson, Ph.D, is a psychologist specializing in Sport Psychology for equestrians and also is a USDF Gold Medalist. She has advice columns that are great! Check it out. [Ask the EquiShrink]
Riding at the crack of dawn or well after dinner? You’re not alone. I’ve been getting spectacular sunrise photos, which kinda makes it worth it to get up at 5am….. However, these Horse Nation readers have also been on that train, and taking their photos seriously. [Horse Nation Photo Challenge]
Especially during the summer competition months, it’s really important to provide your horse with proper electrolyte support. Most of us feed electrolytes in our horsey meals, but as the ingredients in the supplements aren’t readily stored inside the horse’s body, this can be a problem. Competing in the summer is stressful enough, without worrying that your horse isn’t able to recover from his/her athletic endeavors, which is why SmartPak has a Smart Ship & Show Paste, which provides probiotics and prebiotics for digestive health, as well as electrolytes and antioxidants. This is an ideal tube for the stress and demands of travel as well as a comprehensive electrolyte balancer. [SmartPak Product of the Day]
The fifteen CICY2* competitors took to the sandbox today in the North American Junior & Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park, with Elena Hengel dominating the individual leaderboard with both of her horses.
Zipp, Elena’s own 12-year-old Dutch gelding that carried her to an eighth-place individual finish in the 2014 CH-J* at Young Riders, scored 42.7 to easily lead after the first phase. Say I Do or “Donovan,” a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Elena owns, scored 46.0 to sit in second place.
“They were both incredible. Donovan was second in the ring this morning and he was really calm and was able to have a nice, consistent test,” Elena said. “Zipp was awesome; he is always great in the dressage and I felt that he was really on today. I am really proud of both of them.”
Elena is riding Say I Do in the team competition for the hybrid Area III/IV team, which is currently sitting in second place on a total score of 156.0. Canada’s Alberta/Ontario team is leading the way in the team standings by a narrow margin on 153.2, with Shelby Brost and Crimson in fifth on 50.2 as the highest-placed combination for the Cannucks.
Not only was that a personal best score for Crimson, a 13-year-old Thoroughbred mare that won individual bronze in the CH-J* at Young Riders last year, but Shelby’s family members flew in from Alberta to surprise her after her test. Photographer extraordinaire JJ Sillman captured the tearjerking moment in this series:
Shelby Brost and Crimson. Photo by JJ Sillman.
Photo by JJ Sillman
Photo by JJ Sillman
Photo by JJ Sillman
Photo by JJ Sillman
Photo by JJ Sillman
“Crim felt great today. She gave it her all. We’ve been training really hard these last few weeks, putting some finishing touches on and she brought all of that to the ring. I really don’t think I could have gotten more from her in that test. She was foot perfect,” Shelby said.
“I initially wasn’t on the team because I’m from Alberta and we didn’t have a CIC2* team, but the girls allowed me on their team and I’m very grateful for that. We’re all very good friends and the team experience is unlike any other, and I think that’s why people come to Young Riders.”
Looking to the rest of the individual leaderboard, Alyssa Phillips and Bliss III delivered a personal best score of 48.8 to sit in third place. Alyssa and the 10-year-old Dutch mare owned by Julie Phillips competed on the silver-medal winning CH-J* team in 2014, and their Area V/IX hybrid team is currently sitting third in the CICY2* on 159.1.
Fellow teammate Clara Cargile and White Indian, a 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Nancy and John Cargile, also delivered a personal best of 49.5 to sit in fourth place. This pair won individual bronze in the CH-J* at Young Riders in 2015, so we have a highly decorated leaderboard so far in this CICY2* competition.
The two-star riders now look ahead to tackling James Atkinson’s cross country course on Saturday. Less than 10 penalties separate the top seven, and less than six penalties separate the top three teams, so it will be a race against the clock on cross country day.
The CH-J* riders take on the sandbox tomorrow. Ride times will be popping up at this link at some point today, so keep checking back. Go Young Riders!
Kudos to John Crowell for digging out a VHS tape with footage from the 1994 World Games at The Hague, where Dorothy Crowell and Molokai won an individual silver medal. We’re longtime fans of the late great “Mo,” one of the greatest cross country horses of the long format era who was immortalized on a Wheaties cereal box.
The audio doesn’t quite match up to the dialogue, but the video is still a super blast from the past with plenty of other familiar faces in the rest of the U.S. team. You can watch more throwback videos of Molokai here. Go Eventing!
The 2016 Olympic Games are almost here, and Rio de Janeiro is kicking off the action with their priorities in order. Eventing is one of the first sports taking place during the Games, with the first horse inspection happening the morning of the Opening Ceremony. We’ve got the full eventing schedule for you here, plus all of the details on how to watch live, so bookmark this page.
If you’re a cable or satellite TV subscriber in the U.S., you can watch all of the eventing action live on NBCOlympics.com and through the NBC Sports App by logging in with the username and password for your TV account. We’ve provided NBCOlympics.com direct links below for each portion of the competition.
CBC will live stream eventing in Canada, BBC Red Button will show eventing in the UK, and Channel 7 will live stream eventing in Australia. As a side note on broadcast times, Rio de Janeiro is just one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
Eventing Schedule
Friday, August 5
7:30-8:55 a.m. EST – Eventing first horse inspection (There is no live stream, but you can follow @eventingnation on Twitter for live updates)
If you’re in the U.S. and don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, you can watch with a family member or friend who does, or borrow their login information.
The good news for U.S. eventing fans without cable is that cross country and show jumping will be televised LIVE on USA Network. USA, NBC and MSNBC will show replays of the three equestrian disciplines throughout the Olympics. Here’s the full broadcast schedule:
You can also follow along through EN with our open threads, live reports, photo galleries and social media roundups, and don’t forget to follow our live updates each day on Twitter @eventingnation. We’ll also be posting tons of photos on Instagram.
For those of you who can’t watch live, you can follow along here on EN with our open threads, live reports, photo galleries and social media roundups, and don’t forget to follow our live updates each day on Twitter @eventingnation. We’ll also be posting tons of photos on Instagram. Go Eventing!
We are updating this post with answers to reader questions as they come in. Have a question about how to watch eventing at the Olympics? Ask it in the comments.
Bring on the ponies! There's something awesome about a child or fun-sized adult who gets to train and compete with a special pony. "Pony Power" celebrates riders and their pony partners of all ages and sizes who are bringing their A-game to the world of eventing. Do you know of a duo that you think would be great feature subjects? If so, email [email protected].
Ava Davis and Hot Sauce. Photo courtesy of Morgan Chapman Media.
The iconic red barns at Magister Equitum Stables in Hector, Minnesota were teeming with horses and riders during the Roebke’s Run July Horse Trials. Horses of all shapes and sizes settled into their stalls for the weekends, reminding me of the amazing diversity in the eventing world. One equine in particular stood out from the rest, not because he was big or brightly colored, but because he could barely be seen over his stall door.
Meet Hot Sauce the Shetland pony.
Photo courtesy of Morgan Chapman Media
Hot Sauce and his owner, 8-year-old Ava Davis, competed in the Open Starter division at Roebke’s Run. Between Ava’s infectious smile and Hot Sauce’s tiny, fluffy frame, unsurprisingly the two of them gathered a huge crowd of fans over the weekend. Though he was easily the smallest pony entered in the show at 10.2 hands, Hot Sauce was a total hot shot and treated everyone to a great show of “can do” pony attitude.
Hot Sauce and Ava’s partnership began when he arrived at Pegasus Circle Farm in Mankato, Minnesota, where her mom and fellow eventer Amy Hannaman was leasing a 16-hand warmblood.
“He had been a pasture buddy for a family that was shifting to boarding their horses. At 15 years old, Hot Sauce had no formal training, and 8-year-old Ava had just started jumping, but the littlest kid and the littlest pony at the barn were drawn to each other,” Amy said.
“Ava was given permission to work with Hot Sauce, and they developed a special bond through countless hours together filled with bucks, nips and steady improvement.”
Hot Sauce’s owners later decided to move their horses to a different facility, and they asked if Amy like to buy him as a mount for Ava. Hot Sauce officially joined their family last September.
Ava Davis and Hot Sauce. Photo courtesy of Morgan Chapman Media.
“By the end of that month, Ava and Hot Sauce were off to their first hunter schooling show, and we spent the summer and fall watching our barn family compete at horse trials around the midwest,” Amy said. “Ava knew this was what she wanted to do.”
Ava and Hot Sauce made their eventing debut at a Roebke’s Run schooling show earlier this summer, followed by the Roebke’s Run July Horse Trials. Their plan is to continue competing in local horse trials for the remainder of the season.
Kt Harrington, owner of Pegasus Circle Farm, has played a key role in helping Ava and Hot Sauce develop a partnership, Amy said.
“Hot Sauce has gone from not having the muscle to canter a circle to cantering 20 meter circles in the dressage ring. We are so grateful that Kt saw the potential in this little team,” Amy said. “Ava and Hot Sauce are also active members in Lead Hound Pony Club, where they have had many additional opportunities to hone their eventing skills and meet other horse-crazy kids.”
Amy knows Ava will outgrow Hot Sauce at some point, but she emphasized that he will always have a forever home with their family.
“We hope Ava and Hot Sauce can get to a few shows in 2017, but we have had many tear-filled conversations on what Hot Sauce’s next job will be,” Amy said. “We hope we can hand him down to another small eventing rider, but he will always have a home on our farm pulling his pony cart in the summer and skijoring in the winter.”
Too darn cute for words. Photos courtesy of Amy Hannaman.
Hot Sauce Fun Facts:
Ava always packs an extra girth when going to shows, because no one will have a small enough girth to borrow.
Hot Sauce shares a pasture with his “girlfriends” Gezzy and Dalliance. As soon as he gets home from a show, he bolts to get back to them. Because of this, he’s known as the “little man.”
Hot Sauce got his name from his original owner because he was too wild to catch.
He will open and rummage through grooming kits for sugar cubes whenever someone’s back is turned.
Cross-ties are very difficult when you are 10.2 hands.
Check out this video of Ava and Hot Sauce in the Starter division at Roebke’s Run July Horse Trials:
Makenna Rold and Fernhill Imperial, CH-J* dressage leaders. Photo by Sportfot.
