Classic Eventing Nation

Irish Contenders Revealed for Young Horse World Championships at Le Lion d’Angers

By on Sep 30, 2023 9:33 am -

Steven Smith with Strangford at Clonmahon Horse Trials. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

We’re less than a month away now from the FEI WBSFH World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion d’Angers, France, where the world’s best six- and seven-year-old event horses will do battle for their respective titles — and so will the world’s leading studbooks.

Ireland has today released its roster of competitors, all of which, bar one, will represent the Irish Sport Horse studbook. These are as follows:

Six-Year-Olds:

Diamond Mistress (ISH) – 2017 mare by Diarado (HOLST) out of Shes My Master (ISH) by Master Imp (TB). Breeder and owner: Kate Jarvey. Rider: Sian Coleman (IRL)

Greenogue Gigi (ISH) – 2017 mare by Je T’aime Flamenco (BWP) out of Quita (ISH) by Dow Jones Courcel (SF). Breeder: Con McCarthy. Owner: Lucy McCarthy. Rider: Ian Cassells (IRL).

Strangford (ISH) – 2017 gelding by Luidam (KWPN) out of Templepatrick Dara Bay (ISH)(TIH) by Cruisings Micky Finn (ISH)(TIH). Breeder: Dorothea Wilson. Owner: Terry Johnston. Rider: Stephen Smith (IRL).

Seven-Year-Olds:

Danos Lola (ISH) – 2016 mare by Carrera Vdl (KWPN) out of Abigail Cruise (ISH)(TIH) by Cruising (ISH)(TIH). Breeder: Julie Dennehy. Owner and rider: Alyssa O’Neill (IRL).

Drumnaconnell Kobie (ISH) – 2016 gelding by Road To Happiness (TB) out of Kings Jewel (ISH) by Kings Master (ISH). Breeder and owner: Lawrence Patterson. Rider: Clare Abbott (IRL).

Granny Jeans Unicorn (ISH) – 2016 mare by Jack Of Diamonds (SWB) out of Killossery Ringwood (ISH) by Touchdown (ISH). Breeder: Sara Glynn. Owner: Laura and Sara Glynn. Rider: Sara Glynn (IRL).

Kilroe Frolic (ISH) – 2016 gelding by Cavalier Land (ISH) out of Malibiues Dancer (ISH) by O.B.O.S. Quality 004 (OLD). Breeder: Sean Barron. Owner: Maurice Coleman. Rider: Sian Coleman (IRL).

Loughview Commander (ISH) – 2016 gelding by Cobra (HOLST) out of Loughview La La (ISH) by Limmerick (HOLST). Breeder: Judith Sossick. Owner and rider: Suzanne Hagan (IRL).

MGH Zabaione (ISH) – 2016 gelding by Zavall Vdl (KWPN) out of Viancara VDL (KWPN) by Acobat II (HOLST). Breeder: Padraig McCarthy. Owner: Lucy and Padraig McCarthy. Rider: Padraig McCarthy (IRL).

Milchem Miami (ISH) – 2016 mare by Glasgow Vant Merelsnest (BWP) out of Mullentine White Diesel (ISH) by Corland (HOLST). Breeder: R C Equine Ltd. Owner: Marie Dunne. Rider: Godfrey Gibbons (IRL)

Millridge Athos (ISH) – 2016 gelding by Grand Gayle (TB) out of Out Of Touch Blue Moon (ISH) by Out Of Touch (ISH). Breeder: Kieran Savage. Owner: Gerry Leahy. Rider: Ian Cassels (IRL).

Sligo Just Touch (ISH) – 2016 gelding by Sligo Candy Boy (ISH) out of Sligo Landgraf Touch (ISH) by Touchdown (ISH). Breeder: Padraig Howley. Owner: Molly Fisher and Lucy Flemming. Rider: Georgie Goss (IRL).

The Sequel (DSP) – 2016 gelding by Conthargos (OS) out of Juanita (LVBAY) by Asih (BAVAR). Breeder: U Hans von Scheni. Owner and rider: Heidi Hamilton (IRL).

Le Lion d’Angers will take place from October 19–22. To save money on your entry ticket, use the code FRENCHDAYS by tomorrow evening to save €3 on Saturday entry and €2 on Sunday.

Stable View Celebrates 10 Years of Eventing With Oktoberfest Cross Country

By on Sep 30, 2023 8:59 am -

Fence 19, just one of the twenty-five questions facing the 4* riders this morning at Stable View Photo by Shelby Allen.

The entire team at Stable View has spent the last decade pouring their hearts and souls into the always adapting and improving facility here in Aiken, South Carolina, and this weekend is a celebration of all that they have accomplished at the Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and USEF/USEA Horse Trials. Of course one of the biggest components of an event venue is the cross country course, and Captain Mark Phillips has been an integral part of the vision and follow through of that effort for Stable View, and he once again comes forward as the course designer for the feature four-star class.

Competitors will be challenged with 37 jumping efforts that curl them around the sandy Aiken landscape, which the crew at Stable View has been tirelessly watering, and Mark will expect them back through the finish flags in an optimum time of 6 minutes 35 seconds. Easier said than done!

Overnight leader Phillip Dutton says this course, “is the best I’ve seen Mark do here,” and it’s certainly the creation of a man who knows this terrain and venue like the back of his hand. With that much familiarity, who better to take us around the Oktoberfest cross country course? Read on from Captain Mark Phillips himself:

“As riders set off from outside the Hunt Boxes, the Log Box (1) and the Hammock (2) have a familiar look to them. But turning down the hill towards the Meadow, the Diamond Brush, (3) with its new cedar top, starts to put the size of this year’s Oktoberfest into perspective.

“The Chevron Table and Corner in the Meadow (4) is a kind first combination before the climb up the hill to Boyd’s Table (5) and the Boyd’s Water Combination (6). While the Table is kind enough, riders will need to be brave at the Cabin and careful at the MIM Rail on the Mound. All will be thankful when the Open Corner after is behind them.

“The Log Pile (7) on the down slope to the Academy Alp looks massive. Riders have an interesting choice of the ends of the Alp (8) where the quicker right hand side down to a Stable View Shoulder looks a little scary while the left side will take longer.

Fence 12abc Stable View’s Sunken Road. Photo by Shelby Allen.

“The Hayrack (10) in the Cut Through and the Gate (11) after won’t hold too many fears but while the four efforts at the Sunk Road (12) is not new, it still needs a lot of respect.

15 a and bc over there in the far left of the photo, The Land Rover Question. Photo Courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

“Riders will enjoy Barry’s Desk (13) and the Memorial Garden Table (14) before coming to the daunting Derby Field Alp (15). Here the Triple Brushes and Brush Corner are definitely impressive.

Fence 17ab, the Beehive Oxers. Photo Courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

“The Cross Question (16) is unchanged but the Metal Oxer Combination (17) on the downslope cannot be taken for granted.

Fence 20a is followed by a corner at 20b. Photo Courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

“The Tiger Trap (18) is a welcome breather before the Derby Field. The Triple Bar (19) in the water followed by the Blanchard Table and Corner (20) will all come up quickly one after the other.

Fence 23a, followed by 23b in the second water, the GL Williams Water Complex. Photo by Shelby Allen.

“The Double Brush (21) with its new cedar top looks bigger than ever while the two Boats give the GL Williams Water (22) a completely new look. It’s then the run home over the Step Table (23) before the Stable View Village (24) and the Finish.

“A good round here will give horses and riders a massive confidence boost before heading for the Maryland 5* designed by Ian Stark later in the month.”

Need a TLDR? Check our EN’s quick ‘n dirty instagram reel:

First horse leaves the startbox for this division at 12:06 p.m. this afternoon. Check back with us to see how it all shakes out.

Stable View Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Live Scores] [Ride Times/Orders of Go]

 

 

Saturday Links from World Equestrian Brands

By on Sep 30, 2023 12:01 am -

Photo via Dressage at Devon on Facebook.

Spot the eventer amongst the dressage divas! While Silva Martin was originally slated to ride in the Dressage at Devon 2023 Master Class with Dutch Olympian Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, she wound up being a little busy this week giving birth to her and Boyd’s third child. Boyd ended up getting the best seat (saddle) in the house and taking Silva’s place as a demo rider, gracing the Dixon Oval aboard one of his eventing mounts, Commando 3, on Thursday night. We’re still waiting on word of how many changes Cathrine made them do!

U.S. Weekend Action

Course Brook Farm Fall H.T. (Sherborn, MA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]

ESDCTA New Jersey H.T. (Allentown, NJ) [Website] [Volunteer]

Fleur de Leap H.T. (Folsom, LA) [Website] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Jump Start H.T. (Lexington, KY) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Ocala Fall Horse Trials (Ocala, FL) [Website] [Volunteer]

Old Tavern Horse Trials (The Plains, VA) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Spokane Sport Horse 9th Annual Fall H.T. (Spokane, WA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer] [Scoring]

Stable View Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Sundance Farm H.T. (Plymouth, WI) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]

Tomora Horse Trials (Greeley, CO) [Website] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Major International Events

2023 Asian Games (Hangzhou, China) [Equestrian Schedule and Info]

Links to Start Your Weekend:

Shoto Targets Double Gold for Japan

Nominations for 2023 USEA Appreciation Awards Now Open through October 29

Behind The Photo: Bridle Mishap Tests Decade-Long Partnership

George Morris Said…

Bit chewing aids gut motion in horses, study findings suggest

Sponsor Corner: I recently saw a video on social media of someone taking a hose to a gorgeous leather saddle… Please don’t do this, you’ll make team EN cry! Instead, take the advice of World Equestrian Brands. Use a high-quality tack cleaner/conditioner like Amerigo Leather Care. And please. Put the hose down.

Morning Viewing: Bently or Shetland?

Dutton is Dominant On Day One of Stable View Oktoberfest CCI4*-S

By on Sep 29, 2023 6:44 pm -

Phillip Dutton and Z. Photo by Shelby Allen.

US Eventing team stalwart Phillip Dutton leads the Stable View CCI4*-S in both experience and placings as he and his World Equestrian and Olympic Games partner Z landed themselves in the overnight lead position after the first two phases.

On their morning dressage efforts, both judges — Vanda Stewart and Amanda Miller — shared similar opinions, both giving Phillip and Z the identical score of 71.88% for a penalty score of 28.1. Phillip gives thanks to dressage coach Tuny Page on that front, who he says has had him laser focused on maintaining a correct and effective position throughout the test.

“[Z is] getting so mature and professional about it all now and early in his career as dealing lot more with his tension and nervousness, whereas now he sort of understands a lot more the dressage. He kept his calm and kept thinking with me all the way through the test,” he said.

Phillip Dutton and Z. Photo by Shelby Allen.

The 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Asca Z — Bellabouche, by Babouche VH Gehucht Z) will stay on his sub-30 score (the only one in remaining in the division) after a show jumping showdown of sorts that saw only four of the twenty-two competitors emerge double clear.

“He’s just a beautiful jumper and he’s pretty rideable now as well, and I’ve gotten to know what works best in the warm up for him,” he said. “I just try to keep the warm up as quiet and as easy and as relaxed as possible with lots of walking in between jumping and just lets him take a deep breath and doesn’t build up and build up and get more and more tense.”

Phillip admits he had the advantage of being sat on an excellent show jumper, but he still had plenty of work to do across Michel Villancourt’s show jumping track. “I thought it walked strong actually when I walked it. It’s quite square and it wasn’t very forgiving in the lines — you kind of had to stick to the numbers or else you paid a price. I think the Liverpool probably came down the most, and that required you to get really straight and square to it and again I think you’ve paid the price if you didn’t you didn’t do that,” he said.

Lucienne Belissimo and Dyri. Phoot by Shelby Allen.

Phillip’s closest rival tomorrow is second-placed Lucienne Belissimo who saw one rail go early in the course with the Horse Scout Eventing’s Dyri.

“I was pleased with Dyri in the dressage this morning. He is an insecure gelding and can curl up on me a little — today he actually felt confident and maintained a good frame & brain throughout,” she said of the 11-year-old Holsteiner (Diario — La Calera, by by King Milford xx). “The one rail he had was a shame early on because the show jumping suited him as he likes to run a little deep, and there were a few clever combinations that were followed with a short distance.”

Lucienne and Dyri carry forward a score of 33.1 to the final phase.

Mary Bess Davis and Imperio Magic. Photo by Shelby Allen.

It’s a pleasure to see Mary Bess Davis and Imperio Magic in the top three of this feature class, but no one was beaming more Mary Bess herself. After being sidelined from a neck injury this spring, she’s picked up exactly where she left off with “McColl.”

“I knew it would be tough, and if you’re going to ride a course like that you want to be on a horse like him. It gives you a lot of confidence being on him, so I was really kind of excited about how hard it was because I thought we could jump clean and do well because it just suits him,” she said.

She was exactly right on that front, leaving all the rails in place with her 9-year-old Anglo European gelding (Cassander C — Khadija des Hayettes, by Banboula du Thot) to remain on their dressage score of 34.0 going into the final phase.

Sarah Kuhn and Mr Cash van de Start. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Sarah Kuhn is fourth with Mr. Cash van de Start after having one rail down for a two-phase score of 34.9, and Lucienne nabbed another top five position with her second ride, Tremanton coming in fifth on 36.4 points.

Allie Knowles and P.S. I Love You. Photo by Shelby Allen.

In addition to International divisions, Stable View is also playing host to the USEF/USEA Developing Horse Eventing National Championships for 6- and 7-year-olds.

Katherine O’Brien’s P.S. I Love You tops the 7-year-old Championship, which is held at the CCI3*-S level. Ridden by Allie Knowles, the Irish Sport Horse (FSS Correlli Bravo — Woodmount Queen, by Crannagh Hero) put forward a double clear show jumping effort to remain on their dressage score of 32.6.

The 6-year-old class currently belongs to Monbeg Zebedee, who is ridden by Allison Springer. The Zebedee Group’s Irish Sport Horse (Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet —  Bolacreane Dolly, by Cult Hero) earned a 28.6 on the flat and will continue forward with both jumping phases tomorrow.

Competition continues tomorrow with cross country for all International divisions beginning at 8:30 a.m. Stay tuned for much more from Stable View.

Stable View Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Live Scores] [Ride Times/Orders of Go]

 

A Continental Showdown: Check Out the Asian Games Cross-Country Course

By on Sep 29, 2023 3:19 pm -

A beautiful day to be in China. Photo courtesy of the CrossCountry App.

The Asian Games is one of the biggest continental sporting events in the world, and like the Olympics, the format of which it largely mirrors, it comes around just once every four years. Equestrians are well-represented, with dressage, jumping, and eventing on the roster – and with several Asian countries on the up and up over the last few years in our sport, it’s going to be a fascinating competition to watch unfold. We’re doing our best to track down some livestreaming information for you, but in the meantime, we’re delighted to be able to share a first look at the CCI2*-L cross-country course that Germany’s Christian Zehe has designed at the Tonglu Equestrian Centre outside Hangzhou, China.

Talk about a work of art! Photo courtesy of CrossCountry App.

 

Our first impressions? First of all, that it’s just a beautiful looking course, particularly with the attention paid to detail: those carved wooden dragons in the arena, for example, are such a lovely nod to the area’s culture while also making for brilliant, readable fences. There’s also plenty of technicality around the breadth of the course, particularly for the level, and we can certainly expect it to exert plenty of influence.

Beyond that, though, it’s great to see how a Championship of this magnitude pulls people from all around the world into important roles and broaden’s eventings field of experts. Though the course designer is German, he’s assisted by China’s Li Wei and Wang Kai, which will bring further valuable experience and knowledge into East Asian competitions, and British Technical Delegate Andrew Griffiths is ably assisted by India’s Prabal Pratap Singh, similarly adding depth to the field of knowledge across the continent. This is also the first time a course in China has ever been on the CrossCountry App, further adding to the globalisation of the sport.

There are seven nations contesting the eventing, which began today with the first horse inspection. Five of those — China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Thailand — are fielding teams, while a further two — Uzbekistan and South Korea — have sent individuals. There are plenty of familiar faces on the roster; Olympians Alex Hua Tian, Bao Yingfeng, and Huadong Sun all appear in the Chinese team, and similarly, Thailand brings forward Olympians in Weerapat Pitakanonda and Korntawat Samran. Friend of EN Yu Xuan Su will ride for Hong Kong, as will 2008 Olympian Patrick Lam, and British-based rider Annie Ho, who’s already had a busy week at the Games: she also rode on the Hong Kong dressage team, helping them to a bronze medal.

You can keep an eye on the live scoring for the Asian Games here, and check out the dressage times here:

Dressage will begin at 8.00 a.m. CST tomorrow, September 30; Hanghzou is seven hours ahead of Great Britain and twelve hours ahead of East Coast US, so dressage will, as such, begin at 3.00 a.m. British time and 8.00 p.m. this evening East Coast time. Cross-country will take place on Sunday, October 1, again from 8.00 a.m. CST, and Monday, October 2, will be showjumping day, though a start time hasn’t yet been released.

For now, though, while we wait for the action to begin, let’s walk this course, thanks to the fine folks at CrossCountry App!

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Little Downham CCI4*-S Springboards Tom Jackson and Kazuma Tomoto to Autumn Long-Format Aims

By on Sep 29, 2023 9:30 am -

Tom Jackson and Farndon. Photo by Tim Wilkinson.

Tom Jackson and Kazuma Tomoto reigned victorious at the Childeric Saddles Little Downham International CCI4*-S, claiming a section apiece after an action-packed day in England’s Fens.

 Japanese Olympian Kazuma made it back-to-back Little Downham 4* wins, having taken the title in 2022 with Brookpark Vikenti, riding Vinci De La Vigne to victory in Section F. The pair moved up from sixth after the dressage following a double clear, and one of the faster cross-country rounds of the day, adding just 3.2 time faults to their 31 dressage. They were followed in second place by Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On, who clinched a confidence-affirming clear after rerouting from Blenheim, while Boekelo-bound Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ secured third in this section.

It was all about the Toms in CCI4*-S Section E – Tom Jackson and Tom McEwen, that is. Tied after the dressage on 25.4, Tom McEwen and Kentucky CCI5* runner-up JL Dublin edged ahead after the showjumping with a faultless round in their preparation for Pau CCI5*.  Tom Jackson’s Farndon had delivered a new personal best in the dressage but the pair were one second over the time allowed in the showjumping, picking up 0.4 of a time fault.

Jonathan Clissold’s track – which saw a 77% clear rate across the sections – is notorious for the time being influential, with only a handful of riders having achieved the optimum time at the CCI4* and Advanced level in the event’s history. Jackson and Farndon delivered the fastest round of the day, adding just 1.6 time faults to take the win ahead of McEwen and JL Dublin in second, also securing them a personal best finish at the 4* level. Piggy March and the former Nicola Wilson ride Coolparks Sarco secured third place with 7.2 time penalties en route to an end-of-season long-format run for the pair, while fourth place went the way of Bramham CCI4*-L winners Pippa Funnell and MCS Maverick. The win marked the culmination of a particularly successful couple of weeks for Jackson, who came to Little Downham after taking the CCI3*-S at South of England with Ask For Manchier, where he finished in the top seven with  all six of his mounts across the classes.

The single Advanced section went to Gaspard Maksud and his World Championship partner Zaragoza II.

“I thought it was good cross-country course,” says Gaspard. “They’ve made a bit of change compared to the last few years and it was more technical than usual I thought.  A good prep run for a person heading to Boekelo or Pau. My horse knows her job at that level now, and she’s just unbelievable cross-country.”

Little Downham’s autumn CCI4*-S plays a crucial role in the Autumn international schedule providing a pivotal run for those heading abroad for the CCI5* events in Maryland and Pau, plus the Nations Cup Final at Boekelo. The event once again attracted a world class field with six of the world’s top ten riders in attendance, including the reigning World and European Champion, plus all members of Team GBR’s Olympic Gold medal winning team.

You can find the results in full here.

Friday News & Notes Presented by Stable View

By on Sep 29, 2023 12:03 am -

Beautiful evening ride along the Zuid Willemsvaart in Belgium. Photo by Irma Vijn.

I forget how much base level fitness my horses have because of where they live. My turnout fields are large and mostly on the side of the hill, and my neighbor is an avid fox-hunter with a little over 2,000 acres of open space easement land filled with trails and coops and gates. That means that on “off” days, we regularly go exploring for miles over some pretty intense terrain, and they’re all pretty cool with it. However, my friend brought her normal horse over for a little hack this week, and three days later I think he still deeply regrets the power-walk that he started out with. Fun fact about extreme trail riding with Kate, you can’t just get tired and quit, you have to turn around and still get home!

U.S. Weekend Preview

Course Brook Farm Fall H.T. (Sherborn, MA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]

ESDCTA New Jersey H.T. (Allentown, NJ) [Website] [Volunteer]

Fleur de Leap H.T. (Folsom, LA) [Website] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Jump Start H.T. (Lexington, KY) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Ocala Fall Horse Trials (Ocala, FL) [Website] [Volunteer]

Old Tavern Horse Trials (The Plains, VA) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Spokane Sport Horse 9th Annual Fall H.T. (Spokane, WA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer] [Scoring]

Stable View Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Sundance Farm H.T. (Plymouth, WI) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]

Tomora Horse Trials (Greeley, CO) [Website] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Major International Events

2023 Asian Games (Hangzhou, China) [Equestrian Schedule and Info]

News From Around the Globe:

Registration for the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention opens on Oct. 1, and USEA Members won’t want to miss this jam-packed week of social gatherings and educational activities. This year’s convention will be held on Dec. 7-10, 2023 in St. Louis, Missouri. On October 1, the registration portal will be available through the Convention webpage on the US Eventing website. The most cost-effective registration type is a full week pass which gives members access to all open meetings on Thursday through Saturday and includes one ticket to the USEA Annual Meeting of Members Luncheon. [Registration for USEA Annual Meeting Open Sunday]

The USEF has made five rule changes which will go into effect October 1, 2023. Make sure you familiarize yourself with these rule changes below to make sure you are in compliance before heading out for your next event! [New Rule Changes for 2023]

If you’ve ever dreamed of being the ultimate Eventing tourist, you have to know more about Eventing Breaks. Eventing Breaks aims to offer a hassle-free travel experience to eventing enthusiasts but with some unique add ons. Yes, they’ll organize all the basics like flights, airport transport, where to stay, or how to get tickets to a major event like Badminton, Burghley, or even the Olympics but they also provide some pretty cool add-ons. Like drinks with William Fox-Pitt at Badminton in his lakeside pavilion before a course-walk. At Burghley, the group enjoyed a post-xc drinks party at The English Pink Rose Co. Eventing Breaks wants to make the sport of eventing easier than ever to experience. [Eventing Breaks is Making Dreams Come True]

From the haunted steed of the Headless Horseman to the ghost riders in the sky, horses have always figured prominently in our favorite hair-raising tales we love to tell this time of year. Horses have the power to invoke our deepest emotions, and when you take a horse with mane and tail a-blowing in a chill October breeze as the sun dips down beneath the horizon and the air grows suddenly cool, the shadows playing tricks on your eyes, you have the perfect recipe for a ghost story for the ages. And we want to hear yours! Send in your best horsey Halloween stories to Horse Nation. [Second Annual Spooky Short Story Contest]

Feel-good story of the week goes to this tale of humanity at the highest level of sport. When 14-year-old Mathilde Candele was competing on her heart-horse, Disco, last year at the NAYC, she won her first class, but in the warmup for the second, Disco started feeling off. Her parents rushed him to the hospital, thinking it was colic, but in fact he had ruptured a major artery. Within a few hours, McLain Ward called the family and offered to give them a horse out of his barn to replace Disco for Mathilde. [Losing One Unicorn, Gaining Another]

 

 

New Executive Director Named for Kentucky Organizer Equestrian Events, Inc.

By on Sep 28, 2023 2:38 pm -

Tamie Smith and Mai Baum win Kentucky 2023. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Board of Directors for Equestrian Events, Inc. is pleased to announce Erin Woodall as the new executive director of the organization. EEI is a non-profit, charitable organization that supports the development of equestrian sports through the staging of sporting events at the highest level including the Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Kentucky Invitational Grand Prix and the American Eventing Championships. EEI is based at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

Erin Woodall will take the helm of EEI next month. Photo courtesy of EEI.

Woodall, a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Education, served with the United States Pony Clubs, Inc. for over 17 years in multiple positions, most recently as the activities and events director. Additionally, she is a partner at Grit Equine, LLC, at Bryan Station Farm. Woodall’s experience includes volunteer involvement with multiple equine associations including the Kentucky Horse Council, Midsouth Eventing and Dressage Association and the Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“We are pleased to announce Erin’s appointment,” said Laura Holoubek, president of the board. “Erin will be a great addition to help move the organization and events forward and lead the talented EEI staff.”

Since its inception in 1975, EEI has proven to be a leader in equestrian sport by providing development opportunities for riders, horses and equine organizations and by elevating the competitiveness of the United States equestrian teams internationally.

“I’m thrilled to be joining EEI,” Woodall said. “I’ve been a lifelong equestrian and have many fond memories of the Kentucky Three-Day. I look forward to building upon the great foundation laid by those who came before me.”

The board wishes to thank Mike Cooper who has been serving as the interim director since February 2022. Woodall will begin her duties on October 2.

Truth? Your Horse Doesn’t See That Jump Like You Do

By on Sep 28, 2023 12:00 pm -

In this excerpt from her book Horse Brain, Human Brain, brain scientist and horsewoman Janet Jones explains the difference between what you see on course and what your horse sees.

Illustration from the book “Horse Brain, Human Brain.”

Horses often give the impression of superb eyesight. Walking in an open field, a bird flicks a wing and they’ll raise their heads, point their ears, quiver their nostrils, and widen their eyes with what seems to be intense focus on the bird’s location. Some trainers refer to this as the look of an eagle, and it is indeed an impressive display of intelligence and sensitivity.

However, the reason for it depends less on good vision than bad vision. Horses try to improve blurry views by raising their heads and enlarging their eyes. Their ears perk up to listen because they can’t see stationary details well. Their nostrils expand to optimize an excellent sense of smell.

Equine eyes are eight times larger than human eyes, larger than those of any other land mammal. But a horse’s acuity is considerably worse than ours. Acuity refers to the ability to make tiny discriminations in detail while focusing on something in the center of the visual field. Reading is a great example for humans—right now, your eyes are picking up tiny differences in the black marks on a page. You can see the difference between an “e” and a “c,” for example. The distinction is meaningful—witness the confusion if you misread that you have “cars” on both sides of your head.

By convention, normal human acuity is 20/20. What a person with normal vision can see from a distance of 20 feet is the same as what you see from a distance of 20 feet—if you have normal vision. But normal equine acuity ranges from 20/30 to 20/60.

Let’s consider the visually gifted (20/30) horse first. Details you can see from 30 feet away, a sharp-eyed horse can only see from 20 feet away. In other words, he has to be 50 percent closer to see the same details—he has half your acuity. What if your sweetie-pie is near the low end of normal equine acuity at 20/60? Details you make out from 60 feet away, he cannot see until approaching within 20 feet. That’s a 200 percent impairment compared to human vision!

Even the 50 percent deficiency is enough for any rider to consider. Imagine what a horse sees when the two of you approach a jump. For you, it’s clear, sharp, and bright. You’d be mighty nervous if it looked fuzzy and faded. But equestrians are often startled to see photographs constructed to show what a jump looks like to a horse. Even in sunshine, the horse’s view of a jump is blurry, hazy, dim, flat, vague—all the adjectives you’d rather not deliberate as you’re galloping 30 feet per second to a big oxer that could break your neck.

Beyond the normal range from 20/30 to 20/60, horses differ in individual acuity just as people do. Twenty-three percent of horses are nearsighted (they do not see details clearly until they get much closer than equine normal to an object). Forty- three percent of horses are far-sighted (able to see more clearly only as they get farther away). It stands to reason that slightly far-sighted horses excel in disciplines like jumping because the ability to drill down on fine points from a distance fuels their athleticism.

Acuity for objects close to us worsens with age because the natural lens inside human and equine eyes hardens over time. If you’re over 50, you know what I’m talking about. The best acuity in horses occurs around age seven. Prior to that it’s not fully developed, and afterward it begins to decay. Breed makes a difference, too. Horses with long convex faces, like Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, have better acuity than horses with short concave faces, like Arabians.

This excerpt from Horse Brain, Human Brain by Janet Jones is reprinted with permission from Trafalgar Square Books (www.HorseandRiderBooks.com).

The Trip of a Lifetime: Help Team Canada En Route to the Pan Ams (and On to Paris!)

By on Sep 28, 2023 10:28 am -

Mike Winter and El Mundo represent Team Canada in Pratoni. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

As we creep towards the end of the season, all eyes are on the Pan American Games, which will take place at the tail end of October in Santiago, Chile — and will, most crucially, provide the final two qualification routes for next year’s Paris Olympics.

Team Canada’s certainly got their end goal in site: one of those tickets to France, and a return to Olympic contention as a team. With that in mind, they’re coming in hot with fundraising for the Canadian High Performance Programme’s trip to Chile and all the requisite training, with a seriously cool auction, full of some brilliant lots that we’d quite like to get our grubby little mitts on.

Lots are currently being added, and the auction will begin on Friday, September 29 (that’s tomorrow!) and will close next Friday, October 6. Check them out as they come in here, get registered to bid, and if you want to donate directly to Canada’s eventing team, contact Emily Gilbert.