Classic Eventing Nation

Training Tip from Kate Chadderton: Never Give Up

By on Oct 3, 2015 1:00 pm -
Kate Chadderton and VS McCuan Civil Liberty at Blenheim. Photo by Samantha Clark. Kate Chadderton and VS McCuan Civil Liberty at Blenheim. Photo by Samantha Clark.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. “

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

“A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”

And by far the most important of all:

“NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up.”

You may wonder why my tip of the week consists entirely of Winston Churchill quotes. There are two reasons: 1) they’ve always been a true guide in my life as I stretch from a very low rung to one (nay many) far beyond what I should be able to reach and, 2) I recently had the phenomenal fortune of competing at the birthplace of Sir Churchill himself, Blenheim Palace in Woodstock UK.

The horse I chose to take as my partner in this adventure is a West Virginian bred mongrel with a heart mixed of pure gold and pure rotten tomato. The heart jumps me out of any rough distance, the tomato spooks at a bird and tries to dump me, the rotter! As one of my owners Beth says, he’s a bar room brawler and would never say die.

After qualifying for the Rio Olympics at Bromont in June I decided we needed to test our metal where it counts, amongst the Europeans. So off we went.

Our dressage was not of the standard we were conditioned for here in the U.S (we really should take a good hard long look at ourselves there), our cross country, while ‘keen’ for the first couple of fences, was as easy as the apple pie I enjoy eating on every possible occasion.

If you allow me to digress, as a rider I was invited into the Duke of Marlborough’s palace as a guest for a cocktail party. One can’t be rude and turn down such an invite, especially if you’re from the middle of nowhere Queensland in the convict stronghold of Australia, I arrived in my best attire (a dress normally reserved for fancy dinners and a shawl which was a Christmas gift from Carla MacLeod) and a genuine love of the artwork and (obviously) complimentary cocktails.

The point of this recount is there’s a whole room devoted to the one and only Winston Churchill. What a leader, visionary and most importantly horseman he was. As a man he not only had to lead the free world through a world war, he also had to breed top class racehorses and win with them! And that he did.

As I mentioned I come from a middle of nowhere, no income, make your own destiny background. And here I find myself, in Winston Churchill’s birthplace on the official invite of the the Duke himself. And the handsome steed I’m riding cost dimes from WV having raced a couple of times at Charlestown. Hardly royalty. Which brings me back to the start of my story, in Sir Churchill’s own words.

NEVER. NEVER. NEVER give up.

Regardless of how poor your are. Or how badly you ride. Love your horse and love your craft and before you know it you’ll be in a palace too!

The additional quotes are just some free extras for you!

Aim for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land amongest the stars.

And, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up.

Chatt Hills Cancels October HT Following Music Festival

By on Oct 3, 2015 11:00 am -

Following one of the biggest music festivals in the U.S., Chatt Hills organizer Hugh Lochore has released a statement saying that the October Horse Trials, the final event of the season at this facility, will be cancelled due to a combination of bad weather and high traffic on the property.

Hugh Lochore released the following statement yesterday:

“It is with great sadness that Chatt Hills finds itself in a position whereby it will be unable to run its up coming Horse Trials, October 24/25.

The recent music festival held on the competition grounds was a relative success but bad weather played a big part and it has left us with critical parts of our cross country course and road system that simply will not be usable in the short term.

We have tried to make this decision in as timely a manner as possible to give competitors as much opportunity to shop around for other suitable events in the area.

Reparations are under way and with significant investment, Chatt Hills will come out in the spring in better shape than ever! Thank you for your support.”

TomorrowWorld, the sister production of the European festival TomorrowLand, had its third event this year at the facility that also hosts many horse trials throughout the year. In the past two years, the festival has not affected subsequent horse trials, but the situation became too much to overcome before the end of October this year.

The festival this year made headlines for a multitude of people who were left stranded in the camping grounds after torrential rain hit the property.

After the massive crowd reaching numbers of over 150,000 left the property after the five day, four night festival, the damage sustained from the elements proved to be a big undertaking for organizers who needed to reset the property in preparation for the horse trials.

TomorrowWorld has been a big attraction for electronic music lovers, including several eventers, for the past few years. As this is the first year the festival has affected other events on the property, we will be interested to see what plans the production company puts in place if the festival were to return to Chatt Hills.

Best of luck to the hard working people at Chatt Hills who are working to remedy the situation, and we’ll look forward to the next event at this beautiful facility.

Buck and Andrea Davidson Are Expecting!

By on Oct 3, 2015 9:00 am -
The big announcement! Photo via Andrea Leatherman Davidson on Facebook.

The big announcement! Photo via Andrea Leatherman Davidson on Facebook.

It sure is baby season in the event world! Buck Davidson and Andrea Davidson are the latest the join the parental ranks as they announced yesterday that they’re expecting their first child in March of 2016. Naturally, they’re already dubbing it their “new jockey” — our bet is that this baby will be on horseback much younger than many of us were!

Buck and Andrea were married just under a year ago, and he’s taken over some of Andrea’s rides while she takes a break from the saddle during pregnancy. Most recently, Buck finished second in the Professional’s Choice Training Horse division aboard the very special Mr. Poppers, who is usually piloted by Andrea.

Please join us in congratulating the Davidsons on their big news — we couldn’t be more excited for you!

Saturday Links from Tipperary

By on Oct 3, 2015 12:08 am -
Guess who's expecting? Photo from Andrea Leatherman Davidson's Facebook Page Guess who's expecting? Photo from Andrea Leatherman Davidson's Facebook Page

Guess who’s expecting! Buck and Andrea announced some very big and very exciting news today. I must admit, with all of the Eventer-Babies having been born in the last few years I find myself imagining the amazing team we’ll have by 2035. It will be like the X-Men of Eventing – except without that whole mutation thing. I’m not sure exactly where I was going with that, except to say it will be exciting to watch all of these wunderkinds come up the levels. Now, how small do you think they can make helmet covers and cross country vests?

U.S. Weekend Action:

Kent School Fall H.T. [Website] [Ride Times/Live Scores]

Morven Park Fall CIC & H.T.  [Website] [Live Scores]

WindRidge Farm Fall H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times]

ESDCTA New Jersey H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Woodside International CIC & H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times/Live Scores]

Spokane Sport Horse Farm Fall H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times/Live Scores]

Saturday Links:

One of Woodside’s own has been tragically affected by the Tassajara Fires, here in California. Cassie Harkins has played a tremendous role in the eventing community, not only as a Woodside volunteer but as head volunteer steward for cross-country. Cassie has been devoting her time long before many of us began competing at Woodside and has worn many hats, acting as the show secretary, course decorator, and chief caterer. Unfortunately, Cassie and her mother both lost their houses in the fire along with all of their possessions. Luckily, they were both physically unharmed as well as her beloved dog and they are currently living with her sister. The crew at Woodside has taken up a collection to buy her a Visa gift card to replace any immediate needs she may have. There is a collection jar in the show office where people may contribute with cash or check payable to Julie White. Any generosity will help Cassie through this tough time. We appreciate all of your generous donations to help Cassie get back on her feet! [Help Cassie Out]

Steve Jobs’ and Bill Gates’ daughters, Eve and Jennifer, go head to head at Longines Masters in Los Angeles

Rain forces Meadowlands to cancel two racing cards

Ben Hobday home after finishing Chemotherapy

Securing Olympic Equine Talent: What Could Be Learned From The Dutch

Award winning Polo pony killed in shooting in Thermal, Calif.

Saturday Video:

Friday Video from World Equestrian Brands: ‘Be the Inspiration’ with Jonelle Price

By on Oct 2, 2015 6:00 pm -

We can all use a little inspiration, so here’s a bit from New Zealand rider Jonelle Price. We’re loving this hype video from the NZ Olympics Facebook page! As Jonelle aims for Rio next year, she talks a bit about what it takes to make it in this sport.

“I think eventing is unique and different to other sports in the sense that you have a live, other partner,” she says. “Horses can change just like humans do from day to day, and that is part of the difficulty in getting a horse to perform at its very best at a given moment.”

Thanks for the Friday inspiration, Jonelle!

Boekelo CCIO3* Entries Go Live With 12 North American Pairs

By on Oct 2, 2015 4:30 pm -
Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF at Richland. Photo by Rare Air Photography. Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF at Richland. Photo by Rare Air Photography.

Entries for next week’s Boekelo CCIO3* are live, and North America has a large contingent of 12 horses and riders slated to compete, with 10 U.S. combinations and two Canadian combinations entered. A field of 95 horses and riders from 18 different countries will contest the final leg of the 2015 FEI Nations Cup Series, which has attracted 11 total teams.

The USEF announced the U.S. Nations Cup team on Wednesday: Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF, Buck Davidson and Copper Beach, Liz Halliday-Sharp and HHS Cooley, and Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous or RF Quarterman. The team alternates are, in ranked order, Lauren Kieffer and Landmark’s Monte Carlo and Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison.

Team USA is bringing a lot of momentum to the Netherlands for this event after solid showings in overseas events over the past six weeks. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen’s dominant win at Blenheim — with an additional three U.S. riders in the top 11 — stands out as a clear highlight, and we also had two riders in the top 25 at Burghley plus a third place team finish in the Nations Cup at Aachen CICO3*.

With a team comprised of consistent combinations and good cross country horses, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t expect Team USA to deliver yet another good showing at a major international competition, this time at Boekelo. It’s also important to note that Boekelo is one of the final U.S. team selection trials this year for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics (the others are Fair Hill, Pau and Galway Downs).

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the U.S. and Canadian combinations slated to compete at Boekelo (in alphabetical order). Click here to see the full list of entries.

Katherine Coleman and Longwood at Tattersalls. Photo by Libby Law Photography.

Katherine Coleman and Longwood at Tattersalls. Photo by Libby Law Photography.

Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF: It’s been a rocky road for Matt to get to his first overseas competition. After receiving two grants to compete at both Blenheim and Boekelo, BCF Belicoso suffered an injury at Fair Hill and Super Socks BCF colicked badly. But they’re back on track now, and “Flaxen” a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by the Blossom Creek Foundation, just did a 45.3 on the flat — his personal best at the level — at Plantation Field CIC3* before withdrawing after dressage as planned.

Katherine Coleman and Longwood: This is a big event for British-based American Katherine, as it’s her first time competing at Boekelo, and it’s also her first CCI3* with Longwood, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding she owns. Longwood previously completed the CCI3* at Blair Castle in 2013 with former rider Charlotte Agnew. This pair most recently completed the CIC3* at Millstreet at the end of August as their final preparation for Boekelo.

Buck Davidson and Carlevo: Buck and Carlevo, an 8-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Carlevo LLC, had been going great guns since their move up to the Advanced level until Plantation Field, where they picked up 40 jumping penalties on cross country. Buck said after the fact that holds on course pushed their ride time back by two hours, and they both needed to “wake up.” If we write that off as an anomaly, the horse can hit the low 40s in dressage, is a very good show jumper and has all the pieces to deliver a good performance at Boekelo.

Buck Davidson and Carlevo. Photo by Kasey Mueller/Rare Air Photography.

Buck Davidson and Carlevo at Richland. Photo by Rare Air Photography.

Buck Davidson and Copper Beach: Copper Beach has had a relatively quiet summer since completing his first overseas competition in June at Tattersalls CCI3* in 17th place. Buck took “Sean,” a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Carl and Cassie Segal and Sherrie Martin, around the CIC2* at Stuart in July and the Richland Park CIC3* in August, where they finished ninth. The CIC dressage scores tend to fluctuate for this horse, but he is very capable of hitting the low 40s and consistent in the other two phases.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and HHS Cooley: It’s great to see this horse back out after a minor injury at The Fork stymied his run at Rolex and ultimately kept him from competing through the summer. The 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Deborah Halliday has shown very good form since, most recently delivering a personal best dressage score of 37.6 to ultimately finish third in the CIC3* at Ballindenisk in his final prep run for this event. “Cooley” is also a good tough mudder, which he proved at Breda last month with a clear cross country effort around a very sloppy track to finish 12th in a huge CIC3* field.

Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison: “Will,” an 11-year-old Thoroughbred/Trakehner gelding owned by Constance Holling, last completed a CCI3* at Boekelo in 2012. After competing very lightly for the past three years, it’s wonderful to see this horse back out. Jon and Will most recently finished fifth in the Poplar Place CIC3* and are still working to get back to some of those lower dressage scores we’ve seen from them in years past, like the 46.0 they did at Bromont CCI3* in 2012 (the year they won the event and Jon famously streaked in front of the Bromont sign).

Marilyn Little and RF Quarterman. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Marilyn Little and RF Quarterman at Red Hills. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Lauren Kieffer and Landmark’s Monte Carlo: “Patrick,” a 9-year-old Irish/Thoroughbred cross owned and bred by Jacqueline Mars, already competed against many of the Boekelo competitors in the 8-/9-year-old CIC3* class at Blenheim last month, where he finished 16th on a final score of 56.3. He had a 20 on cross country in the only other CCI3* attempt of his career at Bromont this summer, but he’s also spent the entire fall competing at the UK and is a better horse heading into his first CCI3*.

Lauren Kieffer and Vermiculus: “Bug,” an 8-year-old Anglo-Arabian gelding owned by Jacqueline Mars, showed his cheeky side in the 8-/9-year-old CIC3* class at Blenheim, where he was quite naughty in the dressage and ultimately withdrawn before cross country. Lauren took him around an Open Intermediate division at South of England last weekend to work out the kinks, and he was much better behaved — and delivered a 29.8 on the flat.

Marilyn Little and RF Quarterman: “Fitty” is the youngest horse in the field at 7 years old, and the Oldenburg gelding owned by Raylyn Farms already has one CCI3* appearance under his belt in Bromont, where he finished seventh in June. He scored a 47.0 in the first three-star test of his career at Red Hills in March and hasn’t quite made it back that low since then, but he shows an exciting amount of promise for a horse that is young and still coming into his own.

Kathryn Robinson and Let It Bee. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Kathryn Robinson and Let It Bee at Aachen. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous: “Kitty” was on her way to potentially winning a seventh consecutive FEI competition at Poplar Place last month when she stumbled in show jumping, unseating Marilyn. The 10-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Raylyn Farms and Phoebe and Michael Manders then rebounded at Plantation Field, finishing second in her first CIC3* in a star-studded division. Now the Pan American Games individual gold medalist is set to make her CCI3* and overseas debut at Boekelo on yet another U.S. team.

Kathryn Robinson and Let It Bee: Kathryn and “Bee,” a 14-year-old Westphalian gelding she owns, have been bouncing back since the Pan Ams, where they fell at the second fence on cross country after sitting in silver medal position following dressage. After completing the Aachen CICO3* in August, they continued to get their mojo back at Wellington International last month, where they finished third in their Advanced section as their final prep for Boekelo.

Lindsay Traisnel and Candar van het Neerveld: A Canadian based in France with her husband, Xavier, Lindsay has been back to competing for several months now since the birth of her adorable daughter, Elise. Now she returns to Boekelo for the second year in a row with “Candy,” a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion owned by Patricia Pearce, for a second try at completing the event. Bonne chance, Lindsay!

Boekelo Links: Website, Entries, Schedule

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border Lead Morven Park CIC3*

By on Oct 2, 2015 3:01 pm -
Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border persisted through the steady rain that’s been falling all day at Morven Park’s fall horse trials to lead the CIC3* on their dressage score of 44.0 after show jumping. Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair sit in second on their dressage score of 45.9, with Marilyn Little and RF Demeter in third on their dressage score of 46.2.

“The rain has not been so bad today,” Kim said this afternoon. “It hasn’t been heavy a rain, though everything is pretty soaked. Crossy was really good in the dressage, and he show jumped beautifully. It was a nice, flowing show jumping course, and we were all happy to be show jumping in the ring and not on the grass.”

It still remains unclear as to whether CIC cross country will run at this event, as Morven Park officials decided this morning to not hold cross country tomorrow as planned due to predicted heavy rainfall. Now the question remains as to whether cross country will run on Sunday; that’s a decision officials plan to make by 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Maya Black and Doesn't Play Fair. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Six inches of rain fell in Leesburg on Tuesday alone, and the rain has been falling fairly steadily ever since, with 1.7 inches of rain expected to fall today and another 0.3 inches predicted for tomorrow. Suzanne Musgrave, Morven Park’s director of development and communications, told EN this morning that it all comes down to exactly how much rain falls as to whether CIC cross country will run.

Kim said the footing on the cross country course is holding up well this afternoon: “The footing right now is pretty darn good. The only places that are bad are where they have re-seeded around some of the new roads that are crossing the Advanced course. The ground itself is fine except for those sections. I think it’s pretty bareable at the moment.”

Officials are certainly in a difficult position. While the safety of horses and riders must remain paramount as officials make their decision of whether to run cross country, there’s also the fact that Morven Park CIC is the last opportunity for riders to secure their necessary qualifying scores for the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International.

Overnight CIC3* leaders Kim and Cooley Cross Border are one of the combinations that need to run cross country in order to have a crack at securing a final qualifying score for Fair Hill. “Crossy,” an 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by The Cross Syndicate, won two Advanced horse trials in a row at Richland and Poplar Place before tackling his first CIC3* at Plantation Field, where Kim hoped to qualify him to run at Fair Hill.

Kim and Crossy’s cross country run was clipping along just fine until the coffin at fence 9 on Mike Etherington-Smith’s course, when the horse ran out at the triple brush coming out of the combination. They carried on until fence 14, the footbridge, where Kim ultimately decided to retire on course.

Marilyn 2

Marilyn Little and RF Demeter. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

“I think I got a little complacent about the coffin, since he’s been really good lately,” Kim said. “The ground was really hard, and he wasn’t moving up the way I wanted him to move up and wasn’t covering the ground very well. Coming to the footbridge, where a lot of the falls were happening, and he still wasn’t in front of my leg, it was best to retire.”

If the event does go forward with cross country on Sunday, Kim said she intends to run. “We’ll be smart about it, and I’m sure the ground jury will be really smart about what we should or shouldn’t be doing. As of right now, the ground is perfect. The course has skinnies, triple brushes and corners, as you’d expect on an Advanced course; it will be good to make sure that Crossy is all aboard.”

Officials have already canceled cross country for all National divisions, so Allison Springer and Cascani are the winners of the Advanced combined test on a score of 29.7. Lillian Heard finished second and third with Arundel and LCC Barnaby, respectively, on scores of 31.0 and 31.3.

In the CIC2*, Phillip Dutton and Z sit tied for first place with Danny Warrington and L’Alezane on 45.0 after dressage. Stay tuned for much more from Morven Park, included more photos from Valerie Durbon Photography. We’ll also be posting the latest updates on the status of the competition on Facebook and Twitter.

Morven Park CIC: Website, Ride Times, Live Scores

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Riders Named for Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge at The Royal

By on Oct 2, 2015 11:30 am -
Tik Maynard and Dutch Times. Photo by Mackenzie Clark for BenRadvanyi.com.

Tik Maynard and Dutch Times at last year’s Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge. Photo by Mackenzie Clark for BenRadvanyi.com.

The Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge will return once again to The Royal Horse Show in Toronto, and the event has named some of the riders that will compete for $20,000 in prize money on November 6 and 7.

Three members of Canada’s Pan American Games bronze medal team will compete: individual silver medalist Jessica Phoenix; Colleen Loach; and Waylon Roberts, who has won the Indoor Eventing Challenge at The Royal an amazing seven times. Fellow Canadian Karl Slezak will also compete.

Every year The Royal invites a U.S. rider to compete, and this year Buck Davidson will represent Team USA. “I try to go to as many places as I can to showcase eventing, and also to bring the sport to a different audience,” Buck said in a press release. “I’m lucky to have owners that let me do that. The Royal is another way to spread the word about eventing, and if I can play a small part, I’m happy to do it.”

Capt. Mark Phillips will once again design the course, which mixes show jumping fences with cross country obstacles inside the large stadium at Ricoh Coliseum. The competition runs over two nights, with time and jumping penalties totaled at the end of the second night to determine the winner.

“Indoor eventing always seems to look easier that it ends up riding,” Buck said. “To put cross country jumps in a ring and add the elements of closeness and fans is tricky, but very exciting to watch. From an event horse’s perspective, they have to jump and turn quickly indoors when they are used to big, long, galloping strides out on cross-country. You need a horse with the experience to deal with the space and the crowd, and to keep their focus on their job.”

A big crowd always shows up to The Royal to watch the indoor eventing — and screams and cheers for every rider at every jump on course. Jessica said she is looking forward to the challenge and riding in front of the crowd.

“What’s most unique about indoor eventing is that it is really a different sport altogether,” Jessica said. “Our horses are brave enough to do cross country, but to do it in a completely new atmosphere is another test altogether. It’s educational for the riders to put our horses in a new setting and see how they react.”

Interestingly, Jessica’s husband, Joel, will also be competing at The Royal, though not in the indoor eventing. “I show horses, and my husband shows dairy cattle,” Jessica said. “We rarely get to do both and be together at the same event.”

Last year’s Indoor Eventing Challenge had its fair share of thrills and spills. Selena O’Hanlon fell from A First Romance and broke her collarbone on the first night, later undergoing surgery. Colleen Loach and Ian Roberts both had hard falls on the second night. We’re hoping for a safe competition with no injuries this year.

Click here to watch videos from last year’s Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge, which Tik Maynard won with Dutch Times. Stay tuned as we wait for the entire entry list to be unveiled. Click here for more information on the Royal Horse Show, the marquee event of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. You can purchase tickets on Ticketmaster at this link.

Friday News & Notes from FLAIR Nasal Strips

By on Oct 2, 2015 12:03 am -
Robin Thomas completes her first Training level HT with her own Guisseppe's Picture. Photo courtesy of Lee Ann Zobbe.

Robin Thomas completes her first Training level HT with her own Guisseppe’s Picture. Photo courtesy of Lee Ann Zobbe.

Lee Ann Zobbe sent us this picture, as a shot that explains what our sport is about, and I think it’s pretty fantastic. Her student, Robin Thomas, had a goal of going Training level for several years, but was always thwarted by something or other. At the Jumpstart Horse Trials this past weekend, she finally reached her goal, and Lee Ann was at the finish line to catch this amazing reaction. As we all know, the thrill of completing a tough yet rewarding cross country course is like an adrenaline high that you don’t get anywhere else. In fact, I think we’re all just poorly concealed adrenaline junkies, even at the lower levels!

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Kent School Fall H.T. [Website] [Ride Times/Live Scores]

Morven Park Fall CIC & H.T.  [Website] [Live Scores]

WindRidge Farm Fall H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times]

ESDCTA New Jersey H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Woodside International CIC & H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times/Live Scores]

Spokane Sport Horse Farm Fall H.T.  [Website] [Ride Times/Live Scores]

News From Around the Globe:

George Morris is going to attend the Global Dressage Forum. That’s right, the forward-seat, classically trained hunter/jumper God is going to a pish posh glittery dressage party. He’ll be there answering questions, as well as giving a practical session. “I’m definitely not the best person to explain how to ride the highest marked half pass in a dressage test. But I do want to explain how I prefer to ride your horse, for all disciplines.” Boy, do we know it! I can’t wait to see what the fancy prancers make out of George Morris. I hope he yells at one of them for having too much glitter on their hairnet. [George Morris Attending Global Dressage Forum]

Kissing Spine is a problem that affects a lot of horses, especially OTTB sporthorses, but a new surgery is offering hope to those that don’t respond to regular treatment. Kissing spine refers to severe chronic back pain caused by spinous process impingement, otherwise known as sections of the spine touching one another and causing a huge amount of discomfort. There are all sorts of variations on the severity of kissing spine, and many horses have mild cases through which they continue to be competitive and useful, however some severe cases exist that were, until now, without hope for a future of riding. [Easing Back Pain: Mare’s Kissing Spine Surgery a Success]

Hot off the presses of ESPN: Bella Hadid is in training for the 2016 Rio Games in “equestrian eventing”. If you’re not aware of who Bella Hadid is, she’s a Victoria’s Secret model who also has a sister who is a VS model, so they’re generally pretty well set up in the genetics department. She apparently just revealed to the fashion world that she’s vying for a spot on the Olympic team next year. We’re delighted to hear that a non-FEI member has such lofty goals! Always reach for the stars! (If you’re not sensing my sarcasm yet, let’s be clear, I’m dripping with it). [Bella Hadid Competing at Rio 2016]

Shapley’s Show Touch Up spray is one of the pieces of super secret turnout magic that every professional groom knows about. Shapley’s makes this aerosol can of sprayable color, which can be used on tails, legs, or any other part of the body for a quick touch up. It comes in all the colors of horses (bay, chestnut, grey, white, palomino, dark brown, medium brown, sorrel…) so that you can customize it as you want. It’s amazing for grey horses, so you can use a little on their tail right before they go to the show ring, and it looks brilliantly white! [SmartPak Product of the Day]

Hot on Horse Nation: Trêve Gallops Through Paris

I’ll be busy with the Burghley Horse Trials YouTube channel during Joaquin, thank you very much.

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Thursday Video from Zoetis: This Little Girl Gets the Pure Determination Award

By on Oct 1, 2015 5:00 pm -

Cutest. Thing. EVER! Show this little girl and her pon some support! Always love hearing a crowd cheer not for ribbons and medals, but just for sheer resilience to give up. #nobodystoppingthisponytrain

Posted by Trot-Shots on Sunday, September 27, 2015

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been here at some point in our riding. Meet Ella, who had a bad fall and chipped a tooth while schooling cross country the day before this video was taken.

Knowing that her confidence was shaken, her pony Rocky takes care of her the whole way around this course, and the crowd is doing everything they can do cheer them on.

This video is truly the embodiment of the sentiment “kick on,” and we’re all cheering for this adorable pair as they show us exactly how that’s done.