Teresa Groesbeck, owns the 25-year-old stallion who was Mark Todd’s former Advanced level horse who is also the producer of many top eventing offspring here in the U.S. Teresa brought Aberjack to Fresno, California while Mark was teaching a clinic, and horse and rider were able to reunite.
As shown by this video from Lesley Stevenson, Aberjack and Mark clearly picked up right where the left off, with plenty of spunk to keep them both entertained. What a great opportunity to see these two greats together again!
To read more about Mark Todd and Aberjack, click here.
EN is proud to welcome a new group of guest bloggers, kicking off with David Ziegler, who has made a name for himself competing at the upper levels of both eventing and dressage. He's brought his unique experiences here to EN, and we'd like to thank David for taking the time to write a column for us.
David Ziegler and Critical Decision at NAJYRC. Photo by Samantha Clark for PRO.
I was very excited when Eventing Nation asked me to guest blog. Having evented (in my humble opinion) one of the greatest event horses, Critical Decision or “BG”, and having trained my own horse, Peninsula Top Man or “Topper”, from 1st level to FEI, I think I have a unique perspective.
In November this year, my search for a new young horse took me across the street to Bruce Davidson’s Chesterland Farm to look at his young stock. After being boosted up onto one of his 3-year-olds, I immediately took contact on the reins, expecting submission from a horse that had spent the greater portion of his life out in pastures.
The horse, obviously, had no idea what I wanted. Bruce set up a small oxer and told me to jump it, my inner DQ started coming out. I was not comfortable with the limited control I could expect from a 3 year old, my reins got shorter and shorter as I approached the fence, praying for a distance.
We got to the fence and the horse jumped over it with ease, with a laugh, Bruce said to me, “You’ve never ridden a green horse have you?” Until then, the youngest I had ridden had been 5 year olds.
Priding myself on taking every learning opportunity I can, I had asked Bruce if I’d be able to pick his brain on developing young horses from the 2-year-old to 5-year-old stage I had been missing. We discussed the “over dressage-ing” of young horses.
Dressage demands constant submission and obedience. The horse must wait for the rider’s aid and not take over, in pure dressage this is necessary, but in eventing we need to analyze how this training translates to Cross Country.
Galloping at speed, over natural terrain jumping through technical questions, nothing can be expected to go perfectly; it is not show hunters, so we must rely on natural instinct. When we take young horses through their development stage, practicing countless circles and transitions on laser leveled footing, how can we count on our horse to make the split second analysis and decisions we need to stay safe on cross country, when such instincts have been ridden out of them?
In the early years we need to canter the horse across a field, pop it over logs, cross streams, and give it the necessary life experiences it needs for long term success — not just for event horses, but dressage horses as well. We would want our children to play in dirt, so should our horses.
I’ve seen it many times in the dressage world: horses without the mental capacity to hack or have turnout, who, with all the natural ability they may possess, ultimately break because their body hasn’t had the necessary bumps and bruises along the way to toughen them up.
I am thankful to be in a training program that recognizes the benefit of cross training. I still jump, gallop, and trot hills with my dressage horse. I think deep down, we can all agree, this view…
Pfun is super happy to avoid all blizzards, as his ears are already cold. Photo via USEF HP Facebook page.
So much for that blizzard. I suppose if you are in Boston or therabouts, you are getting walloped but I’ll admit to a bit of a let-down here in Philadelphia, where we got about an inch. On the other hand, I can’t blame the government officials for ‘overreacting’ because they were generating the proper response based on the information they were given by the forecasters. And I can’t blame the forecasters because well, it’s weather. So chalk this one up as one big shrug.
Everyone loves a great rehab story. Whether it brings us to tears or makes us even more grateful for our equine friends, rehab stories are some of the most inspiring stories to tell. For that reason, we’d love to hear yours! Send us your rehab story for your chance to win an awesome prize pack from OCD as well as see your story told right here on EN! [Win with OCD]
Don’t expect Badminton to be softer this year. Other than easing a particularly rough spot around the Vicarage Vee, Giuseppe Della Chiesa doesn’t plan on making the course easier for competitors. The course is also being switched to run the other direction, which will present a whole new set of challenges. Last year’s completion rate was under forty percent…will this year be better? [Badminton 2015 Course]
e-Venting has some thoughts about frangible pins. In case you missed it, the FEI recently changed the frangible pin rule to automatically award 21 penalties with no ifs, ands, or buts. In the furor over the bit changes, this may have been overlooked. But e-Venting has some good reasons as to why this rule change should be revisited and possibly revised. [New FEI Rule – The Stealthy Game Changer?]
Interested in learning from one of the brightest up-and-comers in the sport? Hannah Sue Burnett is looking for a working student. Let her know if you’re interested! [Contact Hannah Sue]
Podcast from the USEA: This episode, Barbara Crabo and Lauren Billys talk about their experiences riding for the recent ICP symposium with Christopher Bartle. [USEA Podcast]
SmartPak Product of the Day: If you’re hanging out in Florida, you might be concerned about your horse picking up some fungus. I subscribe to a preventative care regimen of regular rinsing after turn-out followed by an apple vinegar spray, but once a week I like to give a thorough bath with Eqyss Microtek. As a bonus, this stuff smells really, really good. [SmartPak]
This horse is pretty clever; he’s figure out a way to let himself out of his stall. Look like it’s time to add a clip to that latch….
We recently selected a few bloggers to try out a 30 day supply of Omega Alpha’s popular joint supplement, Sinew-X. These bloggers have received their supply and will be starting their horses on a 30 day regimen, all while blogging about their observations and results! We can’t wait to see how their horses take to the supplement, and we hope you enjoy following along! Check back this coming week for introductory blogs from all of our writers!
August 24th, 2013 started off as normal hot Saturday morning. I planned to take a day off from the barn and sleep in. That was until I received a call from my barn manager. She said that my 10-year-old OTTB was being rushed to the veterinary hospital; she said he had lacerated his left front heel bulb and was bleeding profusely. I rushed the hour drive to the clinic with no idea that what I was about to see would rock our boat for good.
I met Ollie, registered as Elusive Outlaw, as he was retiring from racing in 2008. I wasn’t at all in the market for a beautiful, tall, well-muscled red thoroughbred gelding, but he was gorgeous and too much of a good opportunity to pass up. I took him home and began the process of letting down and retraining his mind and body.
I watched him progress from thoroughly having no idea what to do with his feet over a small jump to becoming a champion in hunters and jumpers. Little did we know years ago that a pasture accident would derail all the years of work with Ollie.
When I had arrived at the veterinary clinic, Ollie’s leg was already wrapped under bandages so I had no idea of the extent of the injury. She recommended we take him to Weems and Stephens, an equine hospital and hour away where a doctor was waiting for us. I do believe that was the longest hour drive of my life.
The news from the doctor at Weems and Stephens after the joint tap was that the front left coffin joint was infected and needed to be flushed and watched for a few days. The vet advised me that even if we did flush the joint we still may have to euthanize the horse if the infection spread. My stomach dropped.
But I knew we had to try something to save my horse. We flushed the coffin joint for three days and Ollie stayed at the hospital for close to a week. Luckily the infection didn’t spread, he was sent home with a cast up to the fetlock and to be on stall rest with 10 minutes of hand walking a day for six weeks.
More than a year later, after all the hand walking, after many more months of stall rest, rehab and attempts on various medications, after all the ups and downs, we finally are at the point of where we are back to full work and looking forward to competing in 2015.
With that being said, we still have days where we are struggling with soundness, we have days with a minor limp and days where we have a full blown head bob. The days that he is sound may be the worst days. They are the days that I get hopeful, the days that I put together a calendar and the days that he feels great. As riders we all know the excitement of potential. We all look for it in our horses.
We were offered a wonderful opportunity full of potential: we were offered to try Omega Alpha’s Sinew-X and write about our experience with it. Here’s to the hope that the Sinew-X will give us the edge to gain back the potential that Ollie has and to bring him some well-deserved comfort.
We reported at the beginning of the year that Carl and Cassie Segal’s Ballynoe Castle RM, ridden by Buck Davidson, had surpassed Winsome Adante as the highest scoring U.S. event horse of all time. An exceedingly difficult task, “Reggie” has approached his job with a professional attitude and a special personality. It’s no wonder, then, that Reggie also takes home the title of fan favorite for many who have had the privilege of seeing him compete.
The USEA published a recap on Reggie’s status today, and we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of our favorite moments from the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding’s career to date. What’s your favorite Reggie moment, EN?
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Picture this scenario: You arrive at one of the many three-star events on the West Coast, armed with your camera and laptop, eyes peeled for your next victim interview subject in the form of Hawley Bennett-Awad or Tamie Smith. Chinch is by your side, ready for photobombing and shenanigans.
You spend the weekend taking in the sights and snapping photos, interviewing the riders and whoever else comes across your path, and then writing up reports for EN. Sound like something you can see yourself doing? Read on!
EN is looking for talent in the form of West Coast correspondents to provide coverage at the biggest events in California: Galway Downs, Woodside, Twin Rivers and Copper Meadows. We’d like to find someone who is already traveling to these events, or multiple people who live within proximity to these events (i.e. someone near Galway Downs and someone near Woodside).
This is a great opportunity to get a feel for real-time event coverage and includes duties like writing reports and recaps, photography and video interviews. If you feel you’d be a great fit for this position, please tell us why (include any writing samples, photos and anything else you think we should know) by emailing [email protected].
Welcome to EN’s Product Review series! Join us as we test new gear and a variety of different products to help you take the guess work out of shopping for your horse. If you have a product you'd like EN to test, please email [email protected]. Go Shopping.
Spursuaders — not FEI or USEF legal yet, but they could be! Photo by Jenni Autry.
I first heard about Spursuaders when Steuart Pittman mentioned them in a clinic I was riding in a few years back. He regularly uses them on off-track Thoroughbreds and recommends them for any sensitive horse or someone who wants a less severe yet equally effective spur. My trainer, Holly Sands, has also used them with great results on her Thoroughbreds.
So when Linda Hauck, creator of Spursuaders, asked EN to try them out, I jumped at the chance. Mia is your typical sensitive Thoroughbred mare, so I thought she’d be a perfect test case for the product. Since Mia, with her sassy attitude, only wants to work just as hard as she thinks she needs to, spurs are a necessity for me, especially when it comes to lateral work.
I switched out my typical roller ball spurs for Spursuaders, and wow — what a difference! While these will not magically give your own sassy OTTB mare a good work ethic, they will make the negotiation process much easier and pleasant for all parties involved. I can now “talk to her” while avoiding an angry tail swish or pinned ears — SO much better.
The large, round end of the spur is tilted 4 degrees in to give a more gentle effect. Photo by Jenni Autry.
So how do Spursuaders work, and why are they a good option for sensitive horses like Mia? The spurs are 4.5 inches long from end to end, with the patented circular end curving inward at a slight 4-degree tilt. Linda, a Canadian eventing technical delegate with more than 35 years of experience in the horse industry, said the spur is designed that way to make the horse happier.
“There’s not a lot of muscle and skin over the ribs along the spur line,” Linda said. “Even a Prince of Wales spur can feel really sharp. I put one on my own rib cage, and I thought, ‘Oh my God; that is offensive.’”
Linda got to work designing a spur with a contact surface big enough to apply pressure but smooth enough so that it wouldn’t poke and jab the horse in an uncomfortable way. She went to her neighbor and asked him to “put a Canadian loonie on the back of a traditional spur” in his workshop, and thus the first Spursuader prototype was born. Linda talks much more about the design process in this video:
Since the product officially launched in 2009, riders from all English disciplines — and there’s even a Western Spursuader now — have tried the product and loved it, with big names like Bernie Traurig, Peter Gray, Selena O’Hanlon and Chelan Kozak using them and recommending them.
Joris Van Springel even wore Spursuaders aboard Lully des Aulnes at Badminton in 2010, jumping clear cross country with just 5.6 time penalties. But they haven’t been used in a major event since. Unfortunately, Spursuaders are not legal for eventing at the FEI level (see page 15 of the FEI’s Eventing FAQ on Use of Tacks, Equipment and Dress). USEF rules (section EV114.4) also ban them for USEA events.
“For the last two years, Equine Canada has been asking the FEI to allow these spurs, primarily on the grounds that they are more humane than anything that is permitted now,” Linda said.
Joris Van Springel wearing Spursuaders at Badminton in 2010. Photo by Kit Houghton.
FEI rules state the shank of the spur “must point only towards the rear.” Remember that slight 4 degree curve in, designed that way for the comfort of the horse? That’s what makes them illegal under current FEI and USEF rules.
Spursuaders are legal for eventing in Canada, as well as at USHJA, USDF, and dressage shows in Great Britain and Canada. And Linda remains hard at work spreading the word about Spursuaders in the hopes that they can be approved by the FEI and, subsequently, the USEF.
“Riders are just asking for more choices,” Linda said. If you already use Spursuaders, let us know your experience with them in the comments below. And if you want to request that Spursuaders be made legal for eventing in the U.S., contact Sharon Gallagher at [email protected]. USEF rule change proposals can be submitted at this link.
Spursuaders are available for $54.99 at this link. For more information on Spursuaders, click here to visit the website, and you can also like their Facebook here. And while you’re at it, check out Linda’s other products, the Tapestry Neck Strap — love the idea of elastic inserts in a neck strap! — and the brand new Tapestry Comfort Girth.
Lauren Billys & Ballingowan Ginger. Photo by Sherry Stewart.
Lauren Billys has her eyes set on representing Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games and, subsequently, the Olympics in 2016, and has set many plans in motion to accomplish this goal. To that end, she announced yesterday via an Athletux press release that she had made the decision to sell her 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Ballingowan Ginger, to young rider Jordyn Horwitz.
Lauren imported purchased Ballingowan Ginger in 2007, the year after the mare was imported from Ireland. Together, the pair made their way up to the Intermediate and Advanced level, highlighted by a second place finish in the CIC3* at Twin Rivers in 2014, among other achievements.
“Ginger and I have grown up together, I competed my first Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced competitions on her, did my first FEI event with her, and was chosen for the Puerto Rican Team as a result of our success,” said Billys in the press release. “The decision to sell her was one of the hardest choices I have ever had to make, however, I know that she can change another life the way she has mine, and I owe it to her to allow her to continue doing what she loves most at a level she is comfortable.”
With the sale of Ginger completed, Lauren will be on the lookout for a young horse with four-star potential while she continues to cultivate a lasting partnership with Castle Larchfield Purdy, whom she acquired last year.
At 17, Jordyn Horwitz plans to gain more experience at the upper levels aboard Ginger, having competed through the CCI* to date. “I know Jordyn will love Ginger as I have and cherish the opportunity to ride her, which means the world to me. I will be rooting them on every step of the way, and look forward to watching Jordyn and Ginger accomplish great things together,” Lauren said.
We wish Ginger, Jordan, and Lauren the best of luck in their respective new endeavors.
Win a Wave Fork from Noble Outfitters: This week’s Fab Freebie is the durable, ergonomic and customizable Wave Fork from Noble Outfitters. With a retail price of $54.99, it’s also an affordable addition to your barn… but the only thing that beats this price is the opportunity to win one on EN! [EN Fab Freebies]
Everyone loves a great rehab story. Whether it brings us to tears or makes us even more grateful for our equine friends, rehab stories are some of the most inspiring stories to tell. For that reason, we’d love to hear yours! Send us your rehab story for your chance to win an awesome prize pack from OCD as well as see your story told right here on EN! [Win with OCD]
Attack on horse leaves rider paralyzed: Lindsey Hawkins, a mother of two from South Yorkshire, was enjoying a hack with her horse Murphy last spring when a group of teenagers threw stones at them, causing Murphy to rear and bolt. Lindsey fell off and was left with a severe concussion, bleeding in her brain, and a subsequent stroke that left her paralyzed, unable to walk, speak, swallow, or care for her children. Police are still on the lookout for the people who caused the accident. [Horse & Country]
Equine flu responsible for 1 out of 10 respiratory illnesses: Veterinarians across the US have determined that 1 out of 10 horses with upper respiratory infections have equine influenza. A large number of these horses were older than horses in previous studies, and had been previously vaccinated against equine influenza. This study raises questions about the effectiveness of current American flu vaccines, and further shows the importance of proper quarantine and vaccination schedules for horses. [Horsetalk]
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a score of 11.7 looks like: Yes, you read that correctly. Alexis Brown and her Trakehner mare Acclimation finished on their dressage score of 11.7 in the Novice Horse-B division at Rocking Horse last weekend. This was the mare’s first event of her career, and she just came back from recent hock surgery. You go, girls! [The Chronicle of the Horse]
Video of the Day: Judging from this video’s description (and hilarious commentary), Norman the mini is Fed. Up.with his goat companion’s bullying. FYI, there is an instance of NSFW language at 0:32.
We recently selected a few bloggers to try out a 30 day supply of Omega Alpha’s popular joint supplement, Sinew-X. These bloggers have received their supply and will be starting their horses on a 30 day regimen, all while blogging about their observations and results! We can’t wait to see how their horses take to the supplement, and we hope you enjoy following along! Check back this coming week for introductory blogs from all of our writers!
My mare, Conga.
My mare, Mor Conga, is a 4 year old OTTB that has been with me for 3 months now.
I came across Conga in May of 2014 while she was in rehab after having undergone knee surgery to repair a slab fracture — a break in the knee whereby the “slab” of a carpal bone splits and the front part becomes detached to her knees — an injury she sustained at the race track.
She was a real trooper and a good patient during her recovery. I visited her every week and got to know her and found her to be a very kind, sweet and sensible mare. At the first follow up visit from the vet, he notice that her left knee had not healed as well as the right, so additional stall rest was prescribed.
The big question was whether or not she would be sound enough as a riding horse. Jumping was definitely out of the question, but the hope was to get her to be at least fit for flat work or perhaps low level dressage.
We kept the first ride very short in order to give her plenty of time to readjust and of course not cause her any pain. She was very stiff, especially on her right front. While the first ride was short, it also was promising. She improved with every short ride and I was able to adopt her and bring her home in September.
Knowing that she will likely need to be on some sort of joint support for her knees, I researched several products. I like that the ingredients in Omega Alpha products are all natural and I am looking forward to trying Sinew-X on Conga. I am hopeful that it will help her joint function and keep her sound.
I had tried another Omega Alpha product in the past on one of my geldings with respiratory issues and the results were amazing. I had not been able to ride him in years and with the Respi-Free we started to enjoy short trail rides again.
Conga and I are excited to have been selected for the opportunity to try Sinew-X and are looking forward to share our results with you.
