Classic Eventing Nation

Five More Upper-Level Horses Enjoying Time Off

By on Nov 26, 2014 10:30 am -

The off season — a time for upper-level superstars to take a much-needed break, snuggle up in dirty turnout blankets and just be a horse for awhile. We posted photos of the U.S. World Equestrian Games team horses enjoying time off earlier this month, and here are five more snapshots of upper-level horses taking a break.

Mighty Nice at True Prospect Farm. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Mighty Nice at True Prospect Farm. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Mighty Nice has been on an extended vacation since pulling up sore after his final gallop before Burghley Horse Trials in September. He’s feeling great now and will be back in real work next month, Phillip Dutton said on his Facebook page.

Cambalda. Photo via USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook page.

Cambalda. Photo via USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook page.

Here’s Cambalda enjoying his vacation in his field at owner Tim and Nina Gardners’ farm after winning the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3* last month with Jennie Brannigan.

Anthony Patch. Photo via Laine Ashker's Facebook page.

Anthony Patch. Photo via Laine Ashker’s Facebook page.

OTTB superstar Anthony Patch is also enjoying some downtime after winning the Reserve Championship at the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Final in Texas and strutting his stuff at Pimlico in a demonstration at the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover.

Donner and his new friend Theodore. Photo via Lynn Symansky's Facebook page.

Donner and his new friend Theodore. Photo via Lynn Symansky’s Facebook page.

Donner started back to work a few weeks ago after enjoying two months off following the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, but he’s still finding time to make new friends. Here he is with a pig named Theodore.

Mr. Medicott at True Prospect Farm. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Mr. Medicott at True Prospect Farm. Photo by Jenni Autry.

We haven’t seen much of Mr. Medicott since he aggravated an old tendon injury at Rolex Kentucky this spring. His leg is healed now, and he’s ready to start back to work next month with a return to competition planned for the spring, Phillip said on his blog.

Cheers to taking a break. Go Eventing.

Laine Ashker Breaks Arm, Probably Won’t Be Taking Selfies Today

By on Nov 26, 2014 9:00 am -
Smiling through the pain. Photo via Laine Ashker's Facebook page.

Smiling through the pain. Photo via Laine Ashker’s Facebook page.

Laine Ashker is still smiling through the pain after being kicked by a young horse yesterday, dislocating her elbow and breaking her arm in the process. Her mom, Valerie, confirmed that there were two breaks in her right ulna, one near the wrist and one near the elbow. Laine successfully underwent surgery yesterday afternoon at Marshall Medical Center in Placerville, Calif., to insert two plates into her arm.

Ouch! Photo via Laine Ashker's Facebook page.

Ouch! Photo via Laine Ashker’s Facebook page.

She was home visiting Valerie for Thanksgiving at the time of the accident, so she’s in good hands as she recovers from surgery and tries to get proficient at using her left hand. Her super groom Lauren Sherrill assured us that Lainey is very quickly learning to use her phone with her left hand, so it’s safe to say she’ll be taking selfies again very soon.

In the meantime, please post get-well-soon wishes to Lainey below in the comments. If there’s a good time to break an arm, it’s definitely in the lull between the fall season and the winter season. This will delay the start of Lainey’s season down in Ocala, Fla., but we’re sending her all the best for a speedy recovery and know she’ll be back in the saddle soon.

Update: Lainey has proved me wrong in my assumption that she wouldn’t be taking any selfies today. It looks like she’s already mastered the left-handed #hospitalselfie. Go girl go.

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Photo via Laine’s Facebook page.

Wednesday News and Notes from MDBarnmaster

By on Nov 26, 2014 12:01 am -
The calm before the storm in Middleburg, VA. Photo via Lauren Sprieser's FB Page. The calm before the storm in Middleburg, VA. Photo via Lauren Sprieser's FB Page.

Be safe, East Coast! With the advent of our first real winter storm coming on the day before Thanksgiving, travel is going to be a nightmare today. Not only will we get to experience the normal holiday travel volume, but we’ll get the added bonus of having everyone driving in heavy-ish snow for the first time since last year. Stay patient, and above all, stay safe!

North American Weekend Preview:

Pine Top Thanksgiving H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]

Eventer Marina Royston is setting off to France for a year. Marina has competed up to the 2* level with her horse Illusion of You, but she’s now setting off on a new adventure. For the next year, she will be based out of Lindsay and Xavier Traisnel’s yard in France, training and showing their young stock while she attempts to remember her French. [Introducing Marina Royston]

Doug Payne is famous for his helmet cam videos. Unfortunately, they’ve been banned until further notice, and Doug is hoping the powers that be change their minds. With a degree in mechanical engineering, Doug is certainly qualified to give an educated opinion. [Re-Thinking Helmet Bans]

Many of us switch barns for a few months in the winter. Whether we head south, or simply find a facility with an indoor, many of us create changes in the living situations for our horses during the winter. SmartPak has a few helpful tips for those looking to briefly re-locate. [Helping Your Horse Move to a New Barn]

This week on the Eventing Radio Show: Central American and Caribbean Games and Ocala. Nat and Joe host this show with guest Peter Gray, who talks about his coaching experience with Guatemala at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Richard Trayford pops by to talk Equiventures and the Ocala event series at the Florida Horse Park. [Eventing Radio Show]

Make a turkey and win free stuff. Contests are awesome, and this one has a great prize from Tipperary. Build a turkey, and protect your noggin! [Build Your Own Turkey Contest]

SmartPak Product of the Day: With the weather bouncing back and forth so drastically, it’s time to pay close attention for signs of colic. For a little help with digestion, try SmartDigest Ultra Pellets, which also makes your horse eligible for SmartPak’s ColiCare program! [SmartPak]

Since I brought up Doug Payne and helmet cams, here’s a video from 2012 with Doug providing analysis on his ride.

Tuesday Video from SpectraVET: Elisa Wallace’s New Mustang Goes Eventing

By on Nov 25, 2014 4:30 pm -

Last week we met Elisa Wallace’s newest Mustang prodigy, Hwin, who has been in training for the 2015 Mustang Magic competition in Texas. Elisa has had Hwin for seven weeks and has already progressed enough to bring her out to a schooling event at Chatt Hills last weekend to get her feet wet.

Hwin took to the new challenge with ears pricked, trotting around the white box with no worries and cantering around the cross country with just one hesitation at the water. While she’s still learning, the mare got her first eventing completion, finishing in eighth place at the schooling show.

You can follow along with Elisa and Hwin’s journey to Texas by viewing their YouTube channel.

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Woodstock II Euthanized After Pasture Accident

By on Nov 25, 2014 3:00 pm -
Elinor MacPhail and Woodstock II. Photo courtesy of Pics of You. Elinor MacPhail and Woodstock II. Photo courtesy of Pics of You.

We’ve just received the sad news that Woodstock II was euthanized in Ohio today following a pasture accident. He finished in 5th place with the late Amy Tryon at Rolex in 2006 and went on to take team silver with Elinor MacPhail at Young Riders in 2008. He was 20 at the time of his death.

Ellie was home from her base in Ocala, Florida, for Thanksgiving at the time of the accident and was able to be with “Woody” in his final moments. She shared the following tribute message on her Facebook page:

“RIP Woodstock. Horse of a lifetime. He was stubborn, lazy, made you work for every inch (he didn’t come with the nickname Pecker for no reason), but he knew his job and loved doing it. Thinking of Amy today and how much they both taught me and glad I got to be home with him in his last few days.”

An off-track Thoroughbred developed by Amy beginning in 1997, the pair garnered Advanced wins at Rebecca Farm and Twin Rivers in addition to their top-five placing at Rolex.

Ellie then bought the horse to be her Young Rider mount, and in addition to a silver medal, Woody also carried her to the top Young Rider placing at Fair Hill International CCI2* in 2008.

She also rode Woody in the USEF’s Developing Rider program during the winter of 2009 before deciding it was time to look ahead to his retirement. Ellie and Woody won the Preliminary Championship at the American Eventing Championships in 2009 before she leased him to Anna Robinson, who successfully campaigned him at the lower levels in his golden years.

Thank you to Sally Crane Cox for sending in the beautiful obituary and tribute to her “wonderful old friend” Woody. The EN team sends our condolences to all who know and loved the horse. Rest in peace, Woody.

Six Steps to Staying Warm This Winter Thanks to SmartPak

By on Nov 25, 2014 1:30 pm -
Stay warm this winter with SmartPak! Photo courtesy of SmartPak. Stay warm this winter with SmartPak! Photo courtesy of SmartPak.

Dreading the onset of winter? We’re feeling a little more prepared thanks to these cold weather essentials from our good friends at SmartPak. Here are six steps to staying warm this winter:

Step 1: Start with a base layer.

And no, we’re not talking about the bulky waffle-weave long johns you wore as a kid. Under Armour HeatGear Authentic Tights fit easily under your breeches to create the ultimate high-performance base layer, offering comfort and added compression to keep you dry and warm.

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Step 2: Find a great pair of winter breeches.

It’s harder than it sounds, we know — many of them are either too stiff, too baggy, too slick, too thick, or too weird-fitting to be appealing. Allow us to introduce you to SmartPak Winter Full Seat Pull on Tights and SmartPak Winter Knee Patch Pull on Tights. They look great, feel great and will keep you warm in the saddle all winter long.

On the coldest of cold winter days, add one more outer layer — the SmartPak Winter Overpant — for total protection from the elements.

Step 3: Layer, layer, layer!

How to do so without looking and feeling like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man? Stick with layers that are lightweight and flexible yet warm, like the Under Armour ColdGear Cozy Neck.

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Step 4: Give cold feet the boot.

The Solstice Winter Boots by SmartPak are designed for all-day, waterproof warmth, featuring a rugged, chunky outsole that offers great traction in winter’s worst weather and a cozy faux-fur lining. Available in five different styles:

Step 5: Top it all off with a snuggly coat.

Check out the Alexus Hipster Puffy Jacket by SmartPak — with 120 grams of fill and a wind and water resistant shell, it’s as functional as it is stylish.

Or the waterproof, breathable and insulated SmartPak Winter Jacket.

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Step 6: Accessorize!

Check out SmartPak’s selection of warm winter riding gloves ...

… headbands …

… neckwarmers …

… and hats.

Got that, EN? I don’t know about you, but I feel a little warmer already.

Go SmartPak, and Go Eventing!

 

 

Phillip Dutton Reflects on 2014 Season

By on Nov 25, 2014 12:00 pm -
Phillip Dutton and Trading Aces at WEG. Photo by Jenni Autry. Phillip Dutton and Trading Aces at WEG. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Phillip Dutton updated his blog today with a recap of the 2014 season, touching on the highlights and low points of the year. One of the biggest pieces of good news is he has been able to keep Mighty Nice and Good Enough, both previously owned by the late Bruce Duchossois, thanks to a new group of owners.

Mighty Nice is now owned by Caroline Moran, Annie Jones, Michael Bombar, Kevin Keane and Evie Dutton. Good Enough is now owned by Caroline Moran and Kristine Norton.

“In the last few months of Bruce Duchossois’ life, I know that he was really proud to be the owner of (Mighty Nice),” he said. “It was obviously such a sad time to lose our good friend. We have some great memories, and he changed our lives forever. We’re excited to be able to keep his horses Mighty Nice and Good Enough through the generosity of various people who have stepped in to keep them going.”

He also offers some insight on Team USA’s performance at the World Equestrian Games, where things didn’t exactly go the way everyone hoped. “As for WEG, it was one of those events where it just didn’t go right. That’s the sport; it happens,” he said.

“Our team was one of the best groups I’ve ever ridden with from a morale standpoint. Everyone got along great and was really committed and team-oriented. Everyone was very determined to do well for the U.S. It just didn’t happen. A lot of the time you improve through tough experiences, and I think we will be a stronger team for it.”

Another piece of good news is Mr. Medicott is set to make a comeback following a lengthy rehabilitation period after he aggravated an old tendon injury at Rolex. “His leg has healed really well, and he is set to return to competing in the spring. I’m excited that he still has some big events in him for the future,” Phillip said.

Click here to read the full blog post.

Sally Cousins’ Weekly Training Tip: Degree and Timing of the Aids

By on Nov 25, 2014 10:30 am -

We are delighted to host Sally Cousins as our newest guest blogger, as she shares her wealth of knowledge with us in the form of weekly training tips. We hope these nuggets of information can be integrated directly into your program at home and can influence the way you ride and train your horses. Be sure to check out both the Sally Cousins Eventing website and keep up with her on Facebook.

Photo by Kasey Mueller

Photo by Kasey Mueller

When a mistake happens when we are jumping or doing dressage, it is not necessarily that we used the wrong aid, but sometimes the degree or the timing of the aid was off. If we jump into a line that is short, and we get down the line too quickly, we may have used the correct aid to make the horse wait, but we may have been too late to ask or didn’t ask strongly enough.

In a line that we know is riding long, if we wait too long to move down the line, the horse may add an extra stride. This means the timing of our aid was late. We may also make the mistake of using too much aid to get down the line and push the horse past the distance to the fence. This means the degree of aid we used was too much.
It is very important when we have lessons to learn new aids. It is just as important to get feedback from our instructors about how much and when to use the aids. Once we get to a certain point in our riding, we still learn new aids, but the majority of our time spent in lessons is working on improving the degree and timing of our aids.
The challenge of riding is that for each horse the amount of aid we need and when to use the aid is different. The aids we need to use on a horse can vary even day to day. On my horses, when it is windy and cold, I often need a lot less leg aid than when it is really hot. It is why when we warm a horse up for any phase we need to do transitions into and out of the gaits and within the gaits themselves to get feedback about the responses we can expect that day.

Rolex Kentucky Boosts Prize Money to $300,000 for 2015

By on Nov 25, 2014 9:00 am -
William Fox-Pitt and Bay My Hero. Photo by Jenni Autry. William Fox-Pitt and Bay My Hero. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Equestrian Events Inc. announced yesterday that prize money will be boosted from $250,000 to $300,000 for the 2015 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, which increases the payout to all top 20 finishers.

“The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is a high-stakes competition that draws the world’s best horses and riders,” Lee Carter, EEI executive director, said. “Thanks to support from Rolex Watch USA and Land Rover North America, we are happy to increase the prize money for all of the top 20 finishers. These are impressive athletes.”

Badminton also increased prize money this season, raising the take home amount for the winner from £65,000 to £80,000, or about $125,000. 

“EEI was created to help strengthen and support our U.S. Equestrian teams. We think the best way to do that is to create high-stakes competitive opportunities, and that means prize money,” Stewart Perry, president of the EEI board of directors, said.

Next year’s Rolex will serve as an official U.S. selection trial for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, according to the press release. The Pan Ams will be critically important for Team USA, as a win there secures a slot at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Rolex tickets went on sale last month for next year’s event, which will be held April 23-26. Early bird pricing on tickets is available through Dec. 15, and advanced ticket sales will run Dec. 16-March 2. Gate prices go into effect March 3.

[Rolex Kentucky Ticket Box Office]

Tuesday News & Notes from Cavalor

By on Nov 25, 2014 12:01 am -
Griffin (left) and Claire are waiting for their Thanksgiving dinners. Photo by Lindsey Kahn Griffin (left) and Claire are waiting for their Thanksgiving dinners. Photo by Lindsey Kahn

Well, it’s Thanksgiving week, and that means spending time with loved ones (two-legged and four-legged, if possible) and showing our gratitude for all of the important things in our lives. That, and eating lots of food. I think my gelding Griffin treats every day like Thanksgiving – his chipper attitude and voracious appetite fit right in with the festive feelings of the holiday!

Events Opening Today: Ocala Horse Properties Winter I H.T. (FL, A-3)

News and Notes:

EN Contest time! Want to win a Tipperary T2 Helmet? Show EN your creativity by building a turkey (the more insane, the better)! Email us a photo of your creation by midnight EST on Friday, Nov 28 for a chance to win! [EN Thanksgiving Contest]

2015 Rolex prize money increased: The hosts of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event announced that next spring’s competition will feature a whopping $300,000 in prize money to split between the top finishers, jumping up from $250,000 last year. Event sponsors Rolex Watch USA and Land Rover North America made the increase possible. To read more about Rolex 2015 and to buy tickets to the event, visit [The Chronicle of the Horse]

Hair follicle tests to help racetrack control doping: Los Alamitos Race Course in California will enact a policy starting in May that introduces hair follicle testing on Quarter Horse futurity and derby qualifiers to thwart the use of clenbuterol in racehorses. [Horsetalk]

Goodbye, Budweiser Clydesdales (maybe?): Anheuser-Busch recently announced that its beloved Clydesdales will no longer be as prominent in upcoming Budweiser ads, as they ramp up commercials geared more toward 20-somethings, which apparently involves Jay-Z and “grabbing a Bud with friends.” While I don’t have any issues with either of those concepts, I don’t see any reason why the Clydesdales can’t remain central to Budweiser’s ad campaign. Possibly sensing the public’s disgruntled reactions, Anheuser-Busch amended its announcement by reassuring us that the Clydesdales will still be around, though in a less-prominent role. [Fortune]

SmartPak Product of the Day: No-Stirrup November is almost over – can you feel it? I can’t wait to start using my new Compositi Premium Stirrup Irons! The high-tech polymer makes these stirrups lightweight and durable, and the extra pop of color on the flexible foot treads makes them both fashionable and comfortable. The price tag is also to die for – at under $30, you can order a pair for yourself and as a stocking-stuffer for your equestrian friend!