Jon Holling is on a whole new level of ridiculousness this week as he checks in on his trip up to Canada. If he’s not caught streaking, he’s got some other trick up his sleeve to keep us all entertained this week. We aren’t sure if he’s got a lifetime supply of helium with him or if he found a new app to distort his voice, but we aren’t asking questions.
According to Jon, he’ll be video blogging from Bromont this week, so keep an eye on the Holling Eventing page for more top-notch, professional reporting. He’s going to give us a run for our money this week! It’s on, Jon. It’s on.
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Coincidentally, the two most happening events in the horse world this week are both seven-letter words that start with a “B” and end with an “ont.”
Which is the most exciting? Tough call. On one hand, with the 2015 Belmont we may have a Triple Crown winner on our hands in American Pharoah, a horse so rock star-esque he just inked a major sponsorship deal with Monster Energy Drink this morning. From ESPN: “The deal will give Monster the right to have its logo on the horse’s prerace cooling blanket and for the company’s Monster girls to surround the horse leading up to the Belmont Stakes.”
Scantily clad women + the sport of the kings = I can’t even.
But hey — any half-broke, 3-year-old, genetically gifted racehorse can win $1.5 million and a place in the Triple Crown history books. They don’t even really need to know how to turn or stop! But not everyone can win a trophy of a BEAR EATING A SALMON.
The Bromont CCI2* Perpetual Trophy. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
God love Canada. And this year’s edition of Bromont promises to be even more action-packed than ever. A few reasons why:
For Canadian Pan-Am Team hopefuls, Bromont offers one last chance to give selectors the old razzle-dazzle as the final qualifying competition. The competitor list is teeming with riders who could make the cut and it’s still anyone’s guess as to who’ll end up on the list. The squad will be announced immediately following the conclusion of the event on Sunday. No pressure!
Canadians in the 3*
Waylon Roberts & Kelecyn Cognac
Selena O’Hanlon & Foxwood High
Peter Barry & Kilrodan Abbott
Colleen Loach & Freespirit
Rachel McDonough & Irish Rhythm
Canadians in the 2*
Sable Giesler & Devil Munchkin
Selena O’Hanlon & A First Romance
Matt Kidney & Iceman
Leah Breakey & Master King II
Karl Slezak & Arctic Law
Sean McIntosh & Wild T’Mater
Peter Barry & Kalle 86
Meanwhile, adding to the pressure cooker, last year’s top finishers are back for more.
Lauren Kieffer ran away with the 2* last year, sweeping 1st and 2nd with Meadowbrook’s Scarlett and Landmark’s Monte Carlo. This time around she’s got Monte Carlo, a Ms. Mars homebred, in the 3* and I sure wouldn’t bet against them.
Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett win the CCI2* at Bromont 2014. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Ryan Wood was knocking hard on the door in the 2014 CCI1*, finishing in 2nd and 3rd respectively on Woodstock Wallaby and Woodstock Bennett. Both will be looking to one-up themselves, literally, in this year’s 2* competition. We’re looking forward to watching Ryan clock around the CCI3* as well aboard Fernhill Classic and Mclovin.
Ryan Wood and Fernhill Classic, who finished 5th in the 2014 Bromont CCI2*. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Good thing there’s no betting in eventing because I would have no idea who to put my money on. As for the Belmont, well, gotta go with American Pharoah. Hope springs eternal! Don’t break my heart! Go Triple Crown go!
Keep it locked on Eventing Nation for updates on all the action throughout the week. We’re looking at 32 horses in the CCI1*, 34 in the CCI2* and 21 in the CCI3,* and Maggie Deatrik will be up in here soon with her usually disturbingly accurate “By the Numbers” Bromont picks.
The first horse inspection kicks off here in a few moments at 3 p.m. Much, much more to come. Alléz Concours Complet!
Jessica Phoenix all smiles after winning the 2014 Bromont CCI3*. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
It’s Bromont week, EN! Leslie Wylie is on the grounds to bring you all the news you need to know, starting with this afternoon’s first horse inspection. We’re also excited to partner with EquiRatings, a new website launching this month that provides trends, statistics and analysis from every international event in the world.
Founded by Irish team rider Sam Watson and Diarm Byrne (better known as the Eventing Consultant) EquiRatings has already been pumping out data on Twitter and Facebook, and you can sign up for their email newsletter on the website homepage. You’ll also be able to access exclusive data and analysis on our North American riders and events right here on EN.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at trends and numbers from the last five years of the Bromont International Three-Day Event. Here are 11 Bromont fast facts from EquiRatings:
1.Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen had the lowest winning score of the CCI3* in 2011 with a 47.0, which is the only sub-50 finishing score in the CCI3* since 2010. This combination also performed the only sub-40 dressage score in the CCI3* in the same five-year period.
2.Only eight combinations have made the cross country time in the CCI3* in the past five years. Seven of these were by female riders; Cody Sturgess was the only male in this period. Sally Cousins produced three of the eight rounds that made the time.
3.Twelve 8-year-old horses have contested the CCI3* since 2010. All 12 completed the cross country phase, with 10 of them jumping clear, and one — Never OutFoxed ridden by Holly Payne in 2014 — went clear within the time.
4. No horse or rider has finished on their dressage score in the CCI3* in the past five years.
5.American manpower versus Canadian girl power: Four of the past five winners were male Americans riding geldings. The fifth was a Canadian female riding a mare: Jessica Phoenix and A Little Romance in 2014.
6.In five years, Bromont has had 547 starters across all international classes, with 414 combinations completing the event — a rate of 75.7 percent. Surprisingly, the completion rate of the CCI3* class alone is higher at 80.3 percent.
7.There have only been four dressage scores below 40 across all international classes since 2010, and only 14.8 percent of competitors score below 50 penalties in the first phase.
8.The venue’s clear cross country jumping rate is 67.5 percent, while just 19.9 percent make the optimum time. In the CCI3* class the clear cross country jumping rate is similar at 65.8 percent, while the clear time rate drops significantly to just 7.0 percent.
9.Only one combination has finished on a sub-40 finishing score in the past five years. That was Buck Davidson riding Be Mine in the 2014 CCI* with a score of 39.0.
10.Since 2010, 94 combinations from 117 starters in the CCI3* have made it to the final phase, but only 12 of these have managed to jump clear (12.8 percent); 38.3 percent of combinations accrue more than 8 penalties in the stadium jumping.
11.Only eight combinations have finished on a score less than 60.0 in the past five years in the CCI3*. Will 2015 see that number rise to double figures?
Photo: 1976 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
How did Bromont pull off hosting the 1976 Olympics? And can it do the same for the 2018 World Equestrian Games?
Nestled in the lush green mountains of Quebec a little over an hour away from Montreal, Bromont gives the impression of being North America’s chillest CCI venue.
If you haven’t been to the area, here’s the scene: mountain ski town, pretty as a postcard, populated by about 8,000 North Face jacket-wearing outdoor enthusiasts with charming French accents. The small urban center is posh and sleepy, and the police notoriously have nothing better to do than pull people over for going three miles, er, kilometers over the speed limit.
It’s quaint and quietly beautiful, and it’s almost impossible to imagine it being a destination for tens — much less hundreds — of thousands of flag-waving equestrian enthusiasts. And yet it was for the 1976 Olympics and will be again in 2018, when it co-hosts WEG with Montreal.
To get a better idea of what 2018 might look like, it’s helpful to examine the past.
THE YEAR THE OLYMPICS CAME TO TOWN
With the exception of Team Show Jumping, which was held at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the 1976 Olympic equestrian events were held in Bromont at the then newly constructed Olympic Equestrian Centre.
Several structures from the Olympics remain, most notably the unique stadium. Situated in a natural amphitheater at the foot of a hill, the arena is accentuated by the natural beauty of the surrounding area. 1976 was the first time Olympic equestrian competition was held on sand instead of grass. A grandstand suitable of accommodating 15,000 spectators was added, and another 10,000 could watch from the slopes of nearby hills.
The Bromont stadium during the 1976 Olympics as photographed from various angles. Credit: 1796 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
The cross-country course, located adjacent to the stadium, accommodated 80,000 spectators.
L: Great Britain’s Princess Anne and Goodwill clear a jump during the endurance test. R: Canada’s Juliet Graham and Sumatra execute a quick two-meter turn on a wet hillside to face another jump. Credit: 1976 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
Resourceful planning utilized a combination of new and existing buildings and temporary structures. The horses were housed in 10 temporary stables located about a half mile away from the competition arenas. A restaurant/bar capable of accommodating up to 400 people was set up in the rotunda.
There was parking available for 15,000 cars, with buses running from from the furthest lots. Journalists and event personnel set up in a nearby ski chalet. The Bromont Ice Rink was converted into offices, souvenir booths, information centers, a cafeteria and a bar, and a handful of other offices were set up in a local school.
Credit: 1976 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
By all accounts the city did a bang-up job of transforming itself to accommodate the event and gained world-class amenities in the process. The IOC Games Report concluded: “Following the Games, Bromont, in addition to its other fine facilities, was left with an equestrian centre capable of accommodating major international competitions.”
Check out this neat video from the ’76 Olympics:
OLYMPICS VS. WEG
Fast forward to the 2018, when Bromont’s Olympic Equestrian Centre will face its greatest challenge yet: co-hosting the WEG.
After the financial kerfuffle of WEG 2010 in Lexington and the logistical nightmare that was WEG 2014 in Normandy, there’s a lot of pressure on the next edition to prove that the eight-discipline mega-show model isn’t an inherent recipe for disaster. Is Bromont/Montreal up for the challenge?
Without seeing the bid, which hasn’t been published, we can only speculate about how organizers envision the event’s structure. There’s been a lot of emphasis placed on the Olympic Equestrian Centre, which is poised to be WEG’s epicenter. In the FEI’s announcement that Canada had won the bid, Princess Haya explained, “The Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park is an exceptional and proven venue, and will be the ideal location for the eighth edition of the FEI World Equestrian Games, our most global equestrian event.”
Indeed, Bromont is “proven” in the sense that its 1976 success is nothing to sneeze at. But it’s worth noting that the WEG is a different ball game.
It’s impossible to do an apples-to-apples comparison. But just in terms of the number of horses involved and events staged, WEG is more massive by a landslide.
1976 Olympics: 61 show jumping competitors, 27 dressage competitors and 49 eventing competitors = 137 total.
2014 WEG: 181 show jumping competitors, 96 dressage competitors and 93 eventing competitors, plus 46 driving competitors, 170 endurance competitors, 175 vaulting, 87 reining and 100 para-dressage competitors = 948 total.
There hasn’t been an official report of how many spectators were present for WEG 2014, but according to this press release, they were expecting over 500,000 — and they’re anticipating an even higher attendance in 2018. From Princess Haya: “And four years from now, the Games will be heading to Canada, where we expect even larger audiences on the ground and on television as equestrian sport continues its global growth.”
According to the 1976 Olympics Official IOC Report, 133,681 spectators attended the competitions held at Bromont. The events not held at Bromont, the Team Show Jumping preliminaries and final, held at the Olympic Stadium, drew 60,899 and 74,223 respectively. (The latter was held immediately before the closing ceremony, which likely contributed to the high spectator count.) If you add all those numbers together and assume no overlap, which there surely was, that’s still just half of the number of spectators expected for WEG.
Five-hundred thousand people aren’t going to fit in Bromont, obviously. A population comparison of Bromont with the past three WEG venues:
2006: Aachen, population 260,000
2010: Lexington, population 308,000
2014: Caen, population 110,000
2018: Bromont, population 8,000
MAKING IT WORK
Thankfully Montreal (population 1.5 million), which shares the 2018 WEG bid, isn’t too far away and has the infrastructure to support the influx of visitors insofar as food, lodging and additional event venues. We’ll look forward to seeing how Bromont edits and builds onto its already existing facilities to accommodate its our hour on the world’s equestrian stage, and we have confidence the city will pull it off in fine form. After all, they did it from scratch in 1976.
Segments of the 1976 Olympic Grand Prix show jumping competition, including the Team Final, took place at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, which has a seating capacity of 66,000. Credit: 1976 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
It sure would be nice if the USA could pull off another 1976 as well!
Team USA taking Team Gold in 1976. The team included Tad Coffin/Bally Cor, J. Michael Plumb/Better & Better, Bruce Davidson/Irish Cap and Mary Anne Tauskey /Marcus Aurelius. Credit: 1976 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
The USA’s Tad Coffin and J. Michael Plumb won Individual Gold and Silver, respectively. Credit: 1976 Olympic Games Official Report (olympic-museum.de)
The Bromont CCI kicks off today with the first horse inspection at 3 p.m. Eventing Nation is on the ground to bring you all the action, so keep it locked here!
Libby Head's wrist after her skim boarding accident.
In perhaps one of the most ill-timed injuries in recent memory, Luhmühlen bound Libby Head broke her left wrist in a skimboarding accident just one week before flying out for Germany with Sir Rockstar. But she’s still holding on to hope that she might be able to compete, Libby said after having surgery yesterday.
“The doctor is hopeful it may work out with the plate they put in,” Libby said. “I can use my fingers with no pain already, but will know more when I go back in tomorrow. They have a lightweight cast that has free fingers so I could hold the reins. Obviously I won’t be pushing it and be dangerous, but I’m not quite giving up yet.”
Libby has been fundraising for a trip to Europe since last year, after she and “Rocky,” her 18-year-old off-track Thoroughbred gelding, successfully completed their first CCI4* at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event with two clear jumping phases.
She was able to raise enough money to make the trip thanks to winning the $10,000 Essex Grant at last year’s USEA Convention, as well as fundraising help from the University of Georgia Eventing Team and her parents, John and Sara Head.
Let’s send lots of healing vibes to Libby as she looks to make a very quick recovery and compete at Luhmühlen in two weeks. She and Rocky would join Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen as the only other American combination at the event.
We also hope Libby can still make the trip for her coach Kyle Carter’s sake. He talked about how excited he is to make his first trip to Germany in his latest Five Minutes with Five Ring video blog, which you can watch below.
[UPDATE June 4]: Libby has just posted on her Facebook page that she has decided to withdraw Sir Rockstar from Luhmühlen. We’re heartbroken for Libby, but we can’t wait to see where she decides to go instead. Onward and upward, Libby!
Had my first post op check today and I have a lot more movement and less pain than I was expecting, however I’ve decided to withdraw from Luhmuhlen and make this trip overseas I’ve been working so hard for really count.
I’m quite heartbroken but we’ll see where this next path takes us! Since my parents and I have planned so much of the trip already we decided to still go over to watch! I’m excited my first real trip out of the country will be to watch ponies
Chelsea Kolman and Dante enjoying their pre-cross country ritual. Photo courtesy of JJ Sillman.
Dauntless Courage, an 18 hand Percheron/Thoroughbred cross gelding, was anything but an embodiment of his ironic name when Chelsea Kolman first met him. Chelsea, who makes her home in Lexington, Ky., first met “Dante” as a 3-year-old when he was failing miserably as a police horse in training in Asbury College.
“He actually came with his name, which is really ironic as he is very nervous and was basically feral when I first met him,” Chelsea said. “He wasn’t working out as a police horse because he was too uptight and spooky about things. He was also a PMU baby from Canada, so when he came from there he spent two weeks on a trailer getting down to Kentucky.”
A big and brawny horse, even as a weanling from a PMU program, his handlers named him “Dauntless Courage” at Asbury, thinking he’d live up to that name with his size and presence. The name quickly became ironic, though, as Dante proved he was in fact not full of courage.
Chelsea found Dante when he was three and she herself was just 16. Chelsea keeps many horses at home, most of which are rescues, and she was looking for a prospective event horse. When she discovered his timidness, though, she knew she needed to find a solution.
Chelsea and Dante share a moment. Photo courtesy of JJ Sillman.
“He spooks at shadows and doesn’t like butterflies,” Chelsea, now 20, said. “I needed to find a way to center this horse and get him more relaxed. I ended up going to watch a demo by Guy McLean, who showed everyone how he lays horses down. I remember him saying, ‘It’s a big deal for them to lay down since they are prey animals. If you can get a horse to lay down, then he completely trusts you.’ I thought that this was exactly what I needed to do with Dante.”
So Chelsea set to work. She first tried the process she had seen Guy use with a pony she owned to make sure she understood everything before attempting on the big and strong Dante. “It was a complete and total personality change (with the pony),” she said. “So I started working on it with Dante, and he picked it up right away. I started laying him down after every ride, and while he did seem more relaxed, I thought we needed a ‘real’ test.”
Chelsea took Dante to his second show at Masterson Station, and the horse quickly decided the situation was too stressful and refused to walk into the barn. With Dante rearing and spinning, the situation was becoming increasingly strained, and Chelsea knew what she needed to do.
“I took him over to the grass and laid him down. As soon as he did, he let out a big breath, and when he got up he walked straight into the barn,” she recalled. She had found her solution, and Dante was slowly finding his confidence.
Since she taught Dante to lay down, Chelsea uses the technique to relax him every time he goes to an event, including before cross country when it comes time to put his studs in. “He loves cross country, so each time I would go to put his studs in he would get really antsy,” Chelsea said. “He’s an 18 hand Percheron/Thoroughbred, there was no way I was going to fight him to get the studs in. So I started laying him down, and it cut the time in half. He treats it like his own personal pre-cross country nap.”
Chelsea and Dante. Photo courtesy of JJ Sillman.
Now an 18hh 7-year-old, Dante has found his stride. He eats cross country for breakfast and always looks to Chelsea for guidance. Chelsea has set a goal of qualifying for Young Riders in 2016, and the pair moved up to Prelim this spring, already collecting two second place finishes.
“I would love to take him as far as he can go,” she said. “I also train with Emily Brollier for the dressage, and she thinks we could be competitive in pure dressage so I want to dabble in that as well. I definitely want to get my USDF medals on him, which I’m fully confident he can do.”
Indeed, Chelsea has produced a lovely horse who has the trust in her to do anything she asks. She credits the laying down with a huge boost in her horse’s confidence. Now the name Dauntless Courage isn’t so ironic, as he’s found the person with which that courage can grow.
We’ll be following Chelsea and Dante’s adventures this year and wish them the best of luck with their goals!
Will Coleman's horses are all settle in and ready to rock at Bromont. Photo via Will Coleman Equestrian Facebook.
Bromont is starting today, and our own Leslie Wylie is on site to bring you the latest from the final big CCI for the spring on the east coast. Twenty-two horses are set to jog in the CCI3* today, including recent Jersey Fresh CIC3* winner Landmark’s Monte Carlo, Fair Hill CIC3* winner Super Socks BCF, and the ever consistent RF Demeter. Follow Eventing Nation for your latest news and updates.
Wear purple this weekend in honor of Seema Sonnad. A movement has begun for those attending, volunteering, or competing at events this weekend to wear purple in honor of Seema, who suddenly passed away last week. Purple was Seema’s color for cross country, and she could often be seen sporting a purple polo while volunteering as well. I’ll be competing at Plantation Field on Saturday, one of Seema’s favorite events to volunteer at, and will proudly be wearing purple in honor of this incredible woman.
Looking for some extra cash to pad your pockets? Head to Stuart in July.Always a headline event for Area I in August, the Stuart Horse Trials and CIC is being run for the first time by EEI, the folks who bring you Rolex every year. Stuart Horse Trials will be the first event run by EEI other than our North American four-star, so get ready for an absolutely impeccably-run weekend. Prize money is being offered for all levels, including a Best Turned Out award. [Stuart Horse Trials]
This week in Horse & Hound’s Numbers: The winner of an Open Intermediate division at Tweseldown was 23 years old. Sounds unremarkable, right? Except in this case we are talking the age of the horse Nachtigall, not the rider. [Eventing in Numbers]
Oliver Townend takes the ride on Lanfranco. After failing to complete the cross country at Badminton with Lanfranco, Andrew Hoy put the horse up for sale, feeling he couldn’t handle the stress of international competitions. Prior to getting the ride, Andrew’s ex-wife Bettina Hoy enjoyed great success as well as great struggles with the talented but volatile horse. He is now entered with Oliver Townend in an Advanced division at Little Downham. [Lanfranco Leaves Andrew Hoy’s Yard]
Houghton Hall CIC3* also ran last weekend. While no Americans were competing, seventy-six riders contested the Nations Cup leg in Great Britain. The course, designed by Alec Lochore, brother of popular course designer Hugh Lochore, can be viewed in this photo gallery. [Houghton Hall Course Walk]
Matt Brown put a lot of thought into his relocation to the East Coast. Despite a thriving business out in California, Matt realized, with the help of his wife Cecily, that being comfortable and content with what he had already built was not going to cut it once he realized he could be a contender. He also urges others to help ‘pay it forward’ as it were, and thanks the many people who have inspired and supported him in his journey. [Pushing Snowballs Uphill]
This week on the Eventing Radio Show: Lucinda Green and Jimmy Wofford. This week Samantha and Jess chat with two well-known legends of the sport. [Eventing Radio Show]
SmartPak Product of the Day: My favorite glove is the Roeckl Chester, which in my opinion is stylish, classy, and grippy. One thing it is not, however, is cool. Enter the Roeckl Summer Chester, which features a mesh back so my hands aren’t swimming in their own sweat. [SmartPak]
Relive last year’s Bromont CCI3* by riding along with Maya Black and her jumping bean Doesn’t Play Fair.
Pumbaa Goess-Saurau and Dunno Fear. Photo via Pumbaa Eventing on Facebook.
Tattersalls wrapped up an exciting weekend in Ireland on Sunday, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s event. UK based rider Pumaa Goess-Saurau competed in the Tredstep Ireland CCIJ* with her “Wonder Dun” Dunno Fear and kindly sent in this recap video.
They jumped clear around a tough cross country track and had rails down in the show jumping to finish 14th overall, but Pumbaa said she is still thrilled with how her weekend went.
A video to sum our week in Tattersalls! Such an unbelievably fun and friendly event, can’t wait till next year. The Wonder Dun, as ever, tried his heart out for me – a shame it didn’t all come together on the last day but we’ll get there eventually! Thank you Team Goatis for an awesome few days Claire S Harries Fran Agius Rupert Batting!
We did a bit of digging into Pumbaa Eventing since the name calls to mind a certain portly animal from The Lion King, and what do you know? Check out Pumbaa Eventing’s logo:
Pretty awesome, right? Here’s the back story, from Pumbaa’s website:
“Now to all of you who are wondering about my name (and I can’t imagine that there are many who aren’t), please allow me to explain; my mother has a very ‘advanced’ sense of humor and when I was a baby and my first teeth came through she thought they looked like tusks … like Pumbaa’s in The Lion King! It isn’t actually my real name though (that would be Franziska), just a nickname.”
We love it, Pumbaa.
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Area VI Young Rider Prelimary course walk at Woodside. Photo courtesy of Area VI Young Riders.
Summer must be coming, because Young Rider teams are starting to be named! Despite not being formally named until June 1, Area VI’s Young Riders kept a lid on the news that they found out Saturday, and we’re excited to introduce them to you here. This team is full of up and coming stars who have achieved quite a lot at a young age. Coached by Brian Sabo, the team is ready to make a splash, work hard and have some fun. The whole team was happy to answer a few very important questions for EN in between finishing school and attending graduations. Without further ado, let’s meet the team.
Madelyn Holtzman and Footlight’s Ollie at Woodside. Photo by Gina Frenceschi Pearson.
Madelyn Holtzman is 18 years old and is thrilled to have made the team in her last year of qualification for the one-star. Coached by Robyn Fisher and riding the bay gelding Footlight’s Ollie, Madi qualified last year at the final CCI* at Galway Downs. She first started riding Ollie in 2012 and has ridden him from Novice to the one-star level. First thing she plans to do after arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park: “Give Ollie a good graze! Grazing is definitely his favorite pastime (other than laying in the sun).” Favorite food: “Definitely sushi!”
Madison Temkin and Kingslee. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Madison Temkin is 14 years old and has already twice been named to the USEF Eventing 18 program. She qualified for Young Riders last year at Galway Downs on Kingslee, who she has been riding since June 2014. The pair has been making a name for themselves on the West Coast (and here on EN!), finishing 12th in the large CCI* division at Galway last fall, 2th at the March Galway CIC*, and most recently eighth in the highly competitive Preliminary Rider Challenge at Woodside. How she found out: “Madi Holtzman texted me while I was standing in my classroom getting ready to graduate eighth grade and said, ‘Did you get the e-mail?’ My heart dropped, and I went running and found my mom and checked her email, and there it was! I was and still am thrilled!” Favorite food: “Sushi is definitely number one. Sour apple rings are close behind, though!”
Amber Pearson and Patagona. Photo by Gina Franceschi Pearson.
Amber Pearson is 18 years old and rides with Andrea Pfefifer at Chocolate Horse Farm. She and her partner, Patagonia, qualified in March at Twin Rivers Ranch. Amber and Padi, a gorgeous bay Thoroughbred, have been together for about a year and a half. How she found out: “I received an email from Kim Littlehale, our area coordinator, and I was so excited! I immediately called my mom and shared the news with Andrea as well!” Amber is graduating from high school on Thursday, so we especially appreciate her taking the time to answer a few questions!
Megan Traynham and Lord Lombardi at completing their CCI*. Photo courtesy Christine Traynham.
Megan Traynham ia 14 years old and will be celebrating her 15th birthday in July. I’m sure we can all guess what she wants for her birthday this year! She rides Lord Lombardi, otherwise known as “Vinny,” who competed through the one-star level with Kristi Nunnink before Megan got him in September 2014. The pair went to work, completing four Training level events before moving up to Preliminary in 2015. They qualified for Young Riders at Greenwood Farm Horse Trials in Texas. First thing she did after finding out: “I asked who else was on my team and went to ride my horse!” Favorite food: Nutella – “At least two jars will be making the trip to Kentucky with us!”
Sami Clark and her own Next Dance. Photo courtesy of Captured Moment Photography.
Sami Clark is 16 years old and just thrilled to have qualified on her heart horse, a Selle Francais mare named Next Dance. Known in the barn as Ali, she was the first horse Sami tried. Ali came from Washington State two years ago and together they completed their first Training, their first Prelim and now their first one-star. Sami and Ali qualified at Greenwood Farm Horse Trials in Texas. First thing she did upon hearing the news: “I screamed! My mom ran into my room because she thought something was wrong!” Favorite food: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Young riders who made their area teams will be working hard to fundraise for their trip to the Kentucky Horse Park this summer. Be sure to look for ways to support your area riders, and congratulations to all those who have made their team! You can follow along with more Area VI Young Riders news on the group’s Facebook page.
We received fantastic entries in the 5th Annual EN Blogger Contest, and as always it’s exceedingly difficult to narrow the field down to our finalists. We are pleased to announce that six entrants who will be moving forward into the second round of this year’s contest. Without further ado, here are your 2015 Blogger Contest finalists:
Ashlyn Hayworth
Ashley Hebrank
Kathryn McLeod
Seija Samoylenko
David Taylor
Michelle Wadley
We will be publishing our finalists’ round one submissions over on Bloggers Row this week, so be sure to comment and leave us your feedback on their writing. In the meantime, each finalist will now be hard at work on their round two submission:
A number of sweeping overhauls to eventing were discussed at the recent FEI Sports Forum, from potentially changing the name of the sport to altering the Olympic and WEG formats. What can we do to make eventing more appetizing, engaging and understandable to the mainstream public? Share your ideas in an interesting, funny, informative and creative way.
These submissions are due next week, so keep an eye out for the names of who makes it through to the next round. Best of luck to all of our finalists, and thank you to everyone who entered this year!
