click on the image above to play the interview
Andrew Nicholson recorded an excellent audio interview with Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB radio talking about his fall at Gatcombe in August and subsequent recovery from neck surgery. He hopes to be back to competing in March or April of next year and speaks in-depth about the healing process. Must listen!
[Andrew Nicholson radio interview: The fall and the recovery]
Sara Moore and Polaris over fence 6 in the 2* at Fair Hill. Photo by Maggie Deatrick
Like many of you I was looking at my phone all weekend long watching the updates from Fair Hill. I refreshed my phone until it died, and that was just Thursday. Pictures, posts and videos flooded my news feeds as rider after rider completed the cross country course. Joy was all that was felt the moment I learned that Tamie Smith and her very special Black Stallion finished in 1st place. With her continuing to conquer these formidable foes, I have no doubt Tamra and Lexus will become a house hold eventing team.
Events Opening Today: …… NONE …….
Events Closing this Week: Texas Rose Horse Park Fall H.T. (TX, A-5), Full Gallop Farm Fall H.T. (SC, A-3), Poplar Place Farm November H.T. (GA, A-3)
Tuesday News and Notes:
William Fox-Pitt Condition Update: British Eventing reports that “William’s condition remains the same with no change overnight. Alice Fox-Pitt and all of the family thank everyone for their good wishes and support, it means a huge amount.” [20/10/15 update regarding William Fox-Pitt]
Divit Makes a Mark: This past weekend the BLM along with the Northern Nevada Correctional Center held a mustang auction. This auction auctions off Mustangs that have been trained by inmates of the NNCC. Divit, one of 11 horses auctioned off this past weekend, was bought for an astounding $15,000, which helped to raise a total of $37,900 that goes back into the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program. [BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program]
Waredaca 3-day is Upon Us: 12 years and running, Waredaca’s Classic Novice/Training 3-day is fast approaching. This year Irish Olympian Eric Smiley will be the lead clinician assisting competitors through the entire event. If you volunteer at this event you are welcome to join all seminars, course walks and talks during the four days of competition, so there is even more incentive to come out and help. The classic 3-day will take place October 22-25 and volunteers are greatly needed. [Waredaca Novice/Training 3-Day]
Chicken, Fox, Pig: We should be able to let go and have fun with our horse’s fashion. With help from Creative Seahorse, you have more than 10 different bonnets to choose from. Chickens, pigs, foxes, minions among several others will offer a bit of levity to your daily ride and make them a must have. [10 Ear Bonnets for the ‘Special’ Horses in Your LIfe]
That’s a Wrap: Whether you’re wrapping a horse’s leg for a wound, tendon injury, shipping, confinement or performance there is a right way and a wrong way. Demystify the bandage by learning proper technique, the proper materials and the proper application for the case at hand. [Bandaging Fundamentals]
Friendship is Magic: Come one, come all Bronies to Tokyo, Japan, where a new My Little Pony themed cafe has opened up. You read correctly, pony-themed menu items, a cappuccino that will leave you asking your local barista for the same pony art on top, and pancakes that take the pony cake. [My Little Pony Cafe Pops Up In Downtown Tokyo]
Tuesday Video Break:
With Pau getting ready to start in just a few days, why not get ourselves in the mood with a preview of Pau 2015:
A bittersweet win … Photo by Jenni Autry.
As I think about Tamie Smith’s bittersweet win yesterday in the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3*, I keep coming back to something William Micklem told me in an interview this past January about the state of U.S. eventing as a whole and how to get Team USA back on the podium.
William pointed out that the “coincidental coming together of talents” of riders like Mike Plumb, Jimmy Wofford and Bruce Davidson launched the golden period of U.S. eventing. Pairing those riders with horses like Plain Sailing, Kilkenny and Irish Cap — all names that now appear in the USEA Hall of Fame — secured numerous medals for the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s.
That’s why “spotting and developing the really special once-in-a-lifetime partnerships” is so important, William said. Indeed, in a sport that’s ruled by fractions and inches, it seems appropriate that winning medals can come down to one special horse coming together with one special rider at the right moment in time to make history.
Neither William nor I knew at the time we had that conversation that Tamie was about to take over the ride on Mai Baum, a striking 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding previously campaigned by her student Alex Ahearn, who owns the horse with Ellen Ahearn and Eric Markell.
Hugs all around from owners Alex and Ellen Ahearn. Photo by Jenni Autry.
In the past eight months since she started competing “Lexus,” Tamie successfully moved him up to the Advanced level and never looked back. They’ve now won three CIC3* events and one CCI3* event in a row, with this latest victory crowning them the Dutta Corp/USEF Three-Star Eventing National Champions.
Success like that doesn’t happen by accident. Tamie has logged countless miles through the air and on the road this year as she’s bounced back and forth between her base on the West Coast and the biggest events on the East Coast, racking up top placings on her ever-expanding string of talented horses like Fleeceworks Royal, Dempsey and Fleur de Lis.
She’s been cool under pressure, shown poise and polish in the tack, been gracious when she didn’t achieve the dreams she initially hoped to and fierce in pursuing the new goals she created as a result.
When I gave her a heads up early last week that EN was predicting her to win Fair Hill — Lexus’ CCI3* debut and her first time competing in the CCI3* at the event since 2007 — she said, “Well, I’d like to win and win by a lot, so bring it on.”
We didn’t know then that Tamie would ultimately end up competing during one of the toughest weekends of her life.
“My brother — not by blood, but by love and friendship.”
Her dear friend Dylan Morris, who she grew up with and was always like a brother to her, was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer two years ago. Tamie regularly shared updates about him: “Taking Dylan to chemotherapy today!” “Doctors are trying a new drug, really hope it works.” “Brother isn’t feeling so great today.”
As Fair Hill kicked off last week, it suddenly became apparent that Dylan’s battle with cancer was coming to an end. Dylan’s sister Heather, who was entered to compete Charlie Tango in the CCI2*, withdrew before dressage and flew home to California on Friday morning to say goodbye.
Dylan told Tamie to “go and win.” That’s exactly what she set out to do with Lexus, taking the early lead in dressage on a personal best score of 38.5 and holding it with the second fastest clear round inside the time on cross country.
While we all hoped Dylan would hang on long enough for Tamie to make it back to California after the event to say goodbye to “Brother,” he passed away early yesterday morning before show jumping. He was 35 years old.
Love for the “Black Stallion.” Photo by Jenni Autry.
Though they had a rail in hand, Tamie and Lexus didn’t need it. Despite the heartache, Tamie piloted the horse to a clear round to clinch the biggest win of her career. She accepted the resulting slew of ribbons, trophies and prizes through her tears.
A relatively new ride for her, the horse’s first CCI3*, an event that’s called “Mini Rolex” for a reason — Tamie and Lexus’ win would have been impressive without the added heartbreak. To lead wire-to-wire in the wake of gut-wrenching grief is nothing short of inspirational.
So much has to go right in this sport of highs and lows to achieve success, much less dominate in the way Tamie and Lexus did at Fair Hill. That’s why it’s so moving to watch one special horse coming together with one special rider at the right moment in time — the once-in-a-lifetime partnerships.
We witnessed something remarkable in Maryland.
In memory of Dylan Morris
EN guest columnist William Micklem brings us his latest thoughts after a weekend spent at the FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion D’angers. Click here to read all of William's column for EN and here to visit his website.
Jonty Evans at Luhmühlen last year. Photo by Jenni Autry.
With youth and support and opportunity, life is full of sporting possibilities. Mix this with a little passion for what you choose to do, stir in the ability to get out of bed each morning, and relatively speaking life is easy and success is inevitable.
Then as the years pass by, things get more difficult. More responsibilities, less time, less support and in the case of horse riding less suppleness and probably less nerve.
So as I sat at Lion D’angers at the FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses, I reserved my greatest admiration not for the young bloods but for the slightly older riders, who have resisted the temptation to change their focus to the gentler climes of pure dressage or show jumping and are still challenging themselves by galloping across country.
Jonty Evans is an elite rider, a member of the Irish senior team that won at Boekelo last week ahead of the USA and New Zealand, and a man who sees the Rio Olympics at the end of his current list of action steps and short term goals. Yet Jonty is 44!
His natural modesty and manners endears him to everyone, but it is only in recent times that either he or the eventing circus have started to believe that the highest honours are within touching distance — if the next 10 months and 300 days of supreme dedication and effort can be described as touching distance!
“I want this more than I have ever wanted it,” he says, “and at long last I now believe it is possible.” His holistic preparation has meant shedding over 30 ponds in weight from his 6 foot, 6 inch frame and an equal amount of doubt from his mind.
He remembers, as a psychological turning point, the time when Andrew Nicholson telephoned after completing Burghley and said to him “that was really good … you were up with the best there.” After a three-year stint working for Andrew, he knew that this was huge praise from a man not known for putting any gloss on another rider’s performance.
But Jonty is astute enough to realise that the real key to his mental strength and positivity is not to compare himself with Andrew, but instead to keep achieving a new personal best. His competition is with himself, and he loves the fact that in this sense he just keeps winning … and winning becomes a habit.
Jonty’s story of quiet progress from “average” to “excellence,” and his current competitiveness at the highest level despite limited resources, is one that needs a wider audience because it is inspirational. And yes, I know that William Fox-Pitt is 46 and Andrew Nicholson is 54, but they are both definitely on a freak spectrum that is almost impossible for most of us to relate to. Indeed, they have each been winning international events for over 25 years.
In many ways it is both more interesting and more valuable to study Jonty’s journey and see that it is possible to make extraordinary progress from a fairly low base even as the years move on.
Like almost every rider in the two classes at Lion, Jonty is a full-time rider with many horses to ride. So in truth I have even more admiration for another Irish rider who was also there. He is in the same age bracket, at 48, and yet is also an amateur rider who is only able to ride one or two horses very early in the morning before his day at the office.
Aidan Keogh and Master Tredstep at Pau in 2013. Photo by Jenni Autry.
His international timetable also means he is away from home and his horses for weeks at a time. What he has achieved in the circumstances is simply outstanding. His name is Aidan Keogh, the founder and CEO of the very successful and innovative Tredstep Ireland. I have to declare an interest, as I have worked with him as a coach ever since he was a very skinny 11-year-old boy on a palomino pony called Primrose.
At Lion D’Angers Aidan rode a 15.3-hand mare called Pride of Tredstep, aka Molly, who is by the Thoroughbred Lord Noble out of a coloured pony mare! She looks somewhat like a cob and was inexpensive to say the least, but with Aidan was the leading Irish horse in the 6-year-old class at Lion D’Angers last year, beating many of these truly beautiful and hugely valuable event types that are at these world championships.
Molly breaks the mould of assumed expectations, just as Aidan and Jonty break this mould. Molly was found for Aidan by the world famous Paddy Hughes of the equally successful additives and supplement company Horse First. Paddy also found Master Tredstep for Aidan, and they completed the four-star at Pau two years ago. A huge achievement.
With both riders and horses it is foolish to just dream of possibilities without being honest about realities, but Jonty, Aidan and Molly all remind us not to make assumptions about ability and potential at too early a stage. Why should the slightly older man not challenge himself and go beyond expectations? Even if they do not end up at the Olympics, they will be happier men at the end of their lives than those who quickly build barriers to their own progress and have nothing but regrets to sustain them.
Yes, I haven’t written about female riders in this article, but I did mention Molly! In addition, my article “In Praise of Women” appeared earlier in the year.
Got a case of the Mondays? Watching highlights from cross country day at Fair Hill is sure to snap you right out of it! Buzzterbrown has posted 15 minutes of video footage from Saturday at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3*, and it’s just as awesome as you’d expect it to be. Click here to relive #DuttaFHI with all of EN’s coverage.
#DuttaFHI: Website, Final Scores, YEH Final Scores, Coldren’s Corner, EN’s Coverage, @eventingnation, EN’s Instagram
It’s time to play a fun version of Who Jumped It Best! I had the privilege of watching some seriously talented young horses this weekend at Fair Hill, all vying for the 4- and 5-year-old USEA East Coast Young Event Horse Championship title. After a day of dressage, the competitors were turned loose in the field to show off their jumping prowess, and there sure was a lot to see!
I shot some of the horses over a brush log heading to a drop into the water. This was a really challenging course, but I was impressed with how well the horses handled it. Some of them had never dropped into water or answered a lot of the different types of questions, but they hardly batted an eye.
So, you know the drill! Take a look at these photos and vote for your favorite overall presentation using the poll at the bottom of this post. Eternal EN karma to the winner! Poll closes on Wednesday, October 21 at noon. Good luck!
#DuttaFHI: Website, Final Scores, YEH Final Scores, EN’s Coverage, @eventingnation, EN’s Instagram
Alyssa Peterson and Ready Or Not. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Dom Schramm and FE Flagstone. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Jennie Brannigan and Twilightslastgleam. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Lynn Symansky and SpectraVET Cohiba. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Marilyn Little and RF Smoking Gun. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Ryan Wood and Isabella C. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Sean McQuillan and Fulham. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Will Coleman and Don Dante. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The quarter zip of the Twist of Bit shirt allows for a range of styling options, as well as a way to help get some extra ventilation. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
Welcome to another Monday, which is made a little more fabulous since that means it is time for another Fab Freebie here on EN! This week, one lucky reader will take home a Twist of Bit Riding Shirt, courtesy of Kerrits Equestrian Apparel.
Since the temperatures have been reaching levels I’d describe as chilly, its about time to break out the base layers. As a person who is self admittedly cold most of the time, choosing the right layers to outfit myself to ride is pretty important.
The Twist of Bit Riding Shirt boasts a fun equestrian inspired microfiber fabric that offers a four way stretch. But the stretch doesn’t stop there; the top also features black panels along the sides of the shirts and around the shoulder area that are extra stretchy.
Not only does the extra bit of stretch from the black panels feel comfortable in areas I need it; it also lends a flattering and slimming appearance. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
The Twist of Bit Riding Shirt is also MADE IN THE USA, and is available in sizes XS to 2X. It comes in a choice of four colors, including White, Glacier (blue), Pewter (gray), and Tan (pictured). The Twist of Bit retails for $69.00, and you can find it here.
You can read all about my recent experience with the Twist of Bit Riding shirt here.
A special thanks goes out to Kerrits for providing this week’s prize for one of our awesome readers.
So you know the drill. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter, and then check back in our Friday News & Notes, where we will announce our lucky winner. Good luck!
Disclaimer: Information given in the Rafflecopter widget, including email addresses, may be shared with the corresponding sponsor at their request. You will also be signed up for our weekly EN eNews email newsletter, if you aren’t already. Don’t worry — you’ll just wonder what you’ve been missing out on — and you can unsubscribe if you don’t want it.
Dom Schramm and Ingvill Ramberg's WL Darco's Galliano jump the Event Clinics brush during the YEH 5-year-old Championships at Fair Hill. Photo by Sally Spickard
When I was a kid, photos of Kim and Dan, Karen and Biko, and countless others hung on my bedroom wall. When I ran out of room, I hung photos from the ceiling. Maybe times are different now and inspirational horses and riders are idolized on social media instead of poster boards, but I have to hope that Katy Groesbeck is right when she posted on Facebook this Saturday, “Right now little girls all over the country are hanging posters of Lexus and Tamie Smith on their bedroom walls the way we used to put up pictures of Kim and Dan. #historyinthemaking.”
U.S. Weekend Action:
#DuttaFHI: Website, Final Scores, YEH Final Scores, Coldren’s Corner, EN’s Coverage, @eventingnation, EN’s Instagram
The Event at Kelly’s Ford H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]
Fresno County Horse Park H.T. [Website] [Live Scores]
Monday News and Notes:
Kelly Prather and 7-year-old D.A. Duras made the U.S. proud with their top ten finish at the Young Horse Championships at Le Lion d’Angers this weekend. Catch up on owner Debbie Adams’ blogs about the experience of watching her horse compete against the best youngsters in the world. [D.A. Duras at Le Lion]
Fair Hill International has been doing their own social media roundups over the last several days. In their final collection they say: “Thank you all for coming, braving the cold, and staying cheerful throughout.” It’s hard not to be in good spirits at an event like this one! [Let’s Do One More]
Home is where your horse is, and having your horse in Northern Virginia is pretty magical. Horses, horsey activities and horse people are every where you turn. It’s that something special and unique about the MidAtlantic countryside that keeps luring novelist Jane Smiley back. She’s even visited Fair Hill! [My Horse Country]
Tim and Jonelle Price left New Zealand a decade ago to set up shop in Wiltshire at Mere Farm, slowly building their business and developing the property. With multiple four-star horses between them, the Prices are on their way to representing their home country side-by-side at the Rio Olympics next year. [Stable Environment Jump-Starts Rio Hopes]
Sinead Halpin and the pocket rocket Forrest Nymph at Fair Hill.
We have a full video of the final Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3* press conference thanks to Jamie Rees! Click to watch winner Tamie Smith, Phillip Dutton (2nd) and Kim Severson (3rd) break down their show jumping rounds and talk about the weekend. Don’t miss EN’s final CCI3* report at this link, and click here to catch up on all our #DuttaFHI coverage. Be sure to follow Jamie’s YouTube channel here for more eventing videos.
#DuttaFHI: Website, Final Scores, YEH Final Scores, Coldren’s Corner, EN’s Coverage, @eventingnation, EN’s Instagram
Just what is it about horses? How is it that these creatures have such an impeccable power to heal, to channel all our energies, to help us find strength in the face of tragedy, to show us we are capable of more than we ever thought possible? May we be thankful for all they have given us.
#DuttaFHI: Website, Final Scores, YEH Final Scores, Coldren’s Corner, EN’s Coverage, @eventingnation, EN’s Instagram
This horse has wings and a heart like no other. Thank you Alex, Ellen & Eric for this incredible journey and thank you…
Posted by Tamie Smith on Sunday, October 18, 2015
Kim and Crossie double clear for 3rd place in the CCI***!!!!!!! Did I mention that he just moved to Advanced in…
Posted by Roslyn Rogers Johnson on Sunday, October 18, 2015
Bill on his way to fourth at Fairhill CCI**
Posted by Waylon Roberts on Sunday, October 18, 2015
YAAAAAAAY! When we go to watch the Rolex this coming spring, we’ll get to root for Joe Meyer! He and Clip Clop qualified for the Rolex this weekend! So cool!
Posted by Vanessa J. Conner on Sunday, October 18, 2015
Eventing ….. Love this sport ! Who knows what package the next champion will come in! pic.twitter.com/SruSZvJ1RI
— sinead halpin (@sinead_c_Halpin) October 18, 2015
We brought home two reserve champions from The Dutta Corporation Fair Hill International!Mighty Nice, owned by…
Posted by Phillip Dutton Eventing on Sunday, October 18, 2015
So proud of Woodge and Captain Jack on their CCI 3* finish (with a clean xc might I add..)! It was less than 1 year ago…
Posted by Karen Fulton on Sunday, October 18, 2015
Without a doubt an unforgettable weekend at Fair Hill, my first time there. So impressed with the quality of horses and…
Posted by Sally Spickard on Sunday, October 18, 2015
