Classic Eventing Nation

Hot on H&C: Tune in For the Festival of British Eventing + Take a Peek at This Week’s Entries

By on Aug 3, 2023 10:34 am -

2019’s British Open Championship winner Jonelle Price, with class sponsor Katie Page-Harvey, president of Magic Millions, and HRH Princess Anne (right) who owns Gatcombe Park where the event is held. Photo by Libby Law.

One of the most exciting Advanced events in the UK – by my reckoning, anyway – is this week’s Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing, held in the capacious estate of Gatcombe Park, home to one Princess Anne. While the setting is fittingly pretty, that’s not even close to what makes this competition so exciting – that honour, instead, goes to the terrain afforded by the park’s natural amphitheatre. The courses – from Novice upwards – crisscross these not at all insignificant peaks and valleys in a way that’s both totally spectator-friendly (you can see most of the course from your chosen picnic spot!) and truly influential. Catching the time here is seriously hard, and you’ll want to come prepared off the back of plenty of fitness work if you fancy a chance of catching one of the titles.

Foremost among those titles, which include accolades for retrained racehorses in their own dedicated section, is the British Open Championship. Formerly held at CCI4*-S, but now run at National Advanced level, it used to be one of the most exciting fixtures on the Event Rider Masters and continues to draw a truly top-class field of entries as riders battle for top honours.

Gemma Tattersall and Arctic Soul take the British Open Championship in 2017. Photo courtesy of Event Rider Masters.

So who’s coming forward for this weekend’s renewal of the event, which will see the Open class tackle its jumping phases on Sunday, August 6? First and foremost are the reigning champions, New Zealand’s Tim Price and Vitali, who put his showjumping demons to bed last year to record a decisive victory in this class (and yes, that ‘Open’ bit does mean that the Brits can have their own title snatched away from them here!). Elsewhere in the 35-strong list of Open entries, we’ve got a number of very good combinations that we’ll be expecting to see on the Burghley line-up, including 21-year-old Alice Casburn and her homebred Topspin – a horse whose classic galloping style should suit the Gatcombe bowl marvellously – Emily King and Valmy Biats, Tom McEwen and his Olympic double-medallist Toledo de Kerser, Pippa Funnell with both Billy Walk On and Majas Hope, Oliver Townend with Ballaghmor Class and Swallow Springs and, perhaps most excitingly, Piggy March and her exceptional Brookfield Inocent, back after over a year on the sidelines and ready to re-establish himself as one of the country’s foremost contenders. You can check out the entries in full here.

I’ll always recommend checking out the Festival in person, if you can, because it’s not just a great sporting outing – it’s also a really nice spot to sample local food and, of course, shop yourself silly. If that sounds appealing, you can nab tickets for just £25 per day (or less if you fancy going for a season pass). Not everyone’s able to manage a weekend trip to rural Gloucestershire, though, and if that’s not quite within the realm of reason for you, never fear: all the cross-country action across the weekend will be streamed in full thanks to Horse & Country TV, starting at 10.30 a.m. each day. If you’re not a member, or don’t want to commit to a subscription, you can purchase an event pass, allowing you access to the event’s stream for just £14.99 – but at just £6.99 a month, H&C+ membership is the way forward, and there’s even a seven-day free trial option so you can see if the deep well of archived programming is right for you.

Go Eventing!

Thursday News & Notes

By on Aug 3, 2023 12:03 am -

Just a little trekking in Iceland. Photo by Ylva Falkenhem.

Ah, the arrival of August, and the beginnings of cooler weather. Honestly, could not have come at a better time, because July was getting old real quick. Did you know that horses overheat up to ten times the rate of humans? For me, I’ve always been pretty heat intolerant (you’d think I would have adapted by now living in Virginia), so I’ve always been very careful in the summer as to how much work I ask them to do, and try to stay in the woods where it’s not a thousand degrees. However, now it’s cooling off and I’m looking forward to getting back to real work with my equine partners!

Events Around the World:

Festival of British Eventing [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Live Stream] [Live Scores]

Also…

Definitely ride along with the Mongol Derby here!

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Area VII Young Rider Benefit H.T. at Caber Farm (Onalaska, WA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer] [Scoring]

Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials (Iowa City, IA) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Cobblestone Farms H.T. II (Dexter, MI) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]

Early Bird Summer Event at Galway Downs (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer]

Hoosier Horse Trials (Edinburgh, IN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Huntington Farm H.T. (South Strafford, VT) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Olney Farm Horse Trials (Joppa, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

River Glen Summer H.T. (New Market, TN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]

Spring Gulch H.T. (Highland, CO) [Website] [Volunteer]

News From Around the Globe:

Rhythm rhythm rhythm, or at least that’s what I was always taught. These days I start with relaxation, which greatly enhances your chances of good rhythm. But without both, you’ll never master the art of dressage. The first objective when schooling the young horse is to reestablish his natural rhythm under the rider’s weight. The rider must be able to correctly drive the horse in the rhythm of the basic gaits and be able to follow the horse’s swinging back movements with his or her pelvis. [The Fundamentals of Rhythm in Dressage]

It was by mere accident that David Slagle stumbled upon the horse world and the sport of eventing. “I’m not a horse person,” he said, “but I discovered the sport. Really, Elisa Wallace is responsible, as I just happened to be watching YouTube videos and came across her mustang training videos, which led me to her. She posts cross-country helmet cam videos, and I started watching those and thought, ‘Man, that looks like fun.’ Slagle now lives in Tennessee and mainly volunteers in Area III, but he also commutes to North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky when he can. “I have some venues I go to regularly because they do a good job, have good volunteer coordinators, and are fun events,” he said. “But really, I enjoy all the events I attend; schooling shows just as much as a four-star. If there are good-looking horses and friendly people there, I will enjoy myself. [VIP Volunteer: David Slagle]

The wildest blog you’ll ever read: The Day a Wild Stallion Tried to Kill My Horses on the Pony Express Trail

No skill is more important in riding than learning to control your emotions. If you are susceptible to being influenced by the behavior of your horse, get to work. In training any horse, but much more so horses with behavioral issues, you need to remain a neutral and calming force within their world. In this article, Will Clinging explains how to harness psychology to your advantage when training your horse. [Controlling Emotions in Horse Training]

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Simple, Serious Schooling with Colleen Loach

By on Aug 2, 2023 5:08 pm -

I often get so caught up with the busy bit of competition season, and trying to just maintain the quality of work that I’ve pulled together in the off-season that I forget to actually properly school my horse – or not in a way that really pushes us forward, anyway. Then the season ends, we have a little rest, and we crack on into the really productive bit of the year. But actually, there’s no reason why you can’t be much more sensible – and organised – than me and do some proper training all year ’round. This simple, but seriously effective, exercise from Colleen Loach is a super place to start – and the best bit of all is that you really don’t need many resources to put it together.

(In case that Insta embed is misbehaving for you, just click here to check out the video!)

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Stretch the Limbs, Free the Back: An Excerpt from ‘Stretch Exercises for Horses’

By on Aug 2, 2023 3:00 pm -

In this excerpt from Stretch Exercises for Horses, osteopathist for human and equine athletes, Jean-Michel Boudard, explains how your horse’s back problems begin somewhere else, and what you can do to prevent them.

Copyright of Jean-Michel Boudard.

During equine stretching training courses, I am always asked the same thing: “But the back, I want to learn techniques for the back…” (implied: “So when are we going to start working on the important things?”). As if all the problems come from the back.

When a light bulb won’t turn on anymore in a room, the problem might, of course, be the bulb—but it might also be the switch, the wire carrying electricity to the bulb, or the fuse controlling the flow of electricity to the wire. The spine is even more complicated than a light bulb; it protects the entire nervous system. If there is dysfunction anywhere along the spine, it can cause peripheral pain, and the reverse is true: a tendon or joint in a dysfunctional limb can lock a spinal area, which in turn will become painful. This osteopathic lesion will be secondary to the limb problem; therefore, it is the limb that needs to be treated, and once that treatment is successful, spinal function will correct itself automatically.

The postural muscles allow the underlying architecture of the skeleton to be stable. The spine is in contact with the ground through the limbs, and the brain receives sensory information from receptors in the limbs. The brain analyzes and integrates the information it receives, and sends instructions for a postural adaptation to the back, according to the quality, amplitude, and speed of the body’s movements. It is common for back pain occurring without a traumatic (fall, shock, blockage) or infectious cause to be due to hypercompensatory inflammation of another restricted area. That leaves one or more vertebrae crying out, “Help, I’m sick of doing all the work!” The solution is to give them a vacation, but also, and above all, to increase muscle length and range of motion in other areas, so that they no longer have to always compensate.

Take the example of a horse with retraction of the anterior muscles of the hind legs. These tensions prevent him from extending very far behind in his strides. To improve the range of motion for this extension, the lumbar vertebrae are forced to compensate with greater downward tilt mobility. Inflammation of the lower back is then inevitable, because the lumbar vertebrae are over-stressed. The muscles that surround this area are working at the limits of their physiology. They get tired, and very quickly the area becomes stiff and takes longer and longer to warm up. There is inflammation that will need to be treated in the spine—but until the flexor muscles gain length, that inflammation will never be gone for long.

Another frequently encountered example is pain in the withers with a sagging topline and sore paravertebral muscles. This horse will have a limitation in reach toward the front of the forelegs. When asked to lengthen his pace, the muscles of his forelegs tighten and pull on the withers, which try to compensate on the way down. The balance of tension is then upset, fatigue accumulates, and the vicious circle of contracture sets in.

In general, when tissue release is achieved correctly on a limb, that release extends through the entire spine. There will then be a change in postural tone throughout the body. Moreover, it is in keeping with osteopathic principle to exaggerate the adaptation pattern until a reaction of automatic self-correction is obtained. It’s impressive to see the topline rebalance after ten minutes of stretching. This shows that we are changing the information reaching the postural system, which extends throughout the body without boundaries. All tissues are connected to each other, and any change in tension in one location causes change in all other tissues.

The balance of the back is a function of the tension ratio between the muscle tone of the superficial and deep abdominals (flexors) and that of the paravertebrals (extensors). A sagging back is held not by muscle tone, but by the osteoligamentary system. So when you ask for a longer gait, this movement pulls even more on the spine. When this request is painful, there is compensation, and when compensation is no longer possible, the horse rebels. This is his way of saying, “Stop, I can’t take it anymore!” In this case, the role of stretching will be to release the tensions of the muscle chains connecting the limb to the spine. Particular care should be taken to obtain good length of the shoulder extensor muscles and hip flexor muscles. It will remain for the rider to work at the same time on strengthening the abdominals during training in order to obtain commitment to the movement without causing pain to the horse.

The daily repetition of stretching sessions makes it possible to very quickly detect changes in the range of motion or reaction of the horse. When this is the case, we must immediately seek an explanation in order to intervene as quickly as possible. This allows for quick response, helping the horse’s healthcare team diagnose and treat the issue before there is too much damage.

This excerpt from Stretch Exercises for Horses by Jean-Michel Boudard is reprinted with permission from Trafalgar Square Books (www.HorseandRiderBooks.com).

Copyright of Jean-Michel Boudard.

Fancy Riding at Burghley? Here’s Your Chance!

By on Aug 2, 2023 11:27 am -

Piggy March leaves the arena with husband Tom after taking the Burghley title. This could be you! Kind of! Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Riding at the iconic (and, okay, let’s be real, absolutely terrifying) Defender Burghley Horse Trials is on the bucket-list for no shortage of us loopy eventing lot – but getting there is no mean feat. First, you need to find yourself a horse who’ll love those endless galloping hills and mammoth fences; then, you need to produce them carefully over the years while picking up a laundry list of MERs; finally, you need to wrap them in cotton wool from the moment that long-awaited entry finally gets sent in and hope that you can actually make that trip to Lincolnshire come late-August.
Sounds like a lot, right? It is – but thanks to our friends at Burghley, there’s now a chance for you to ride on these hallowed grounds as part of this year’s event, even if you’re still a long way off five-star.
On Thursday, 31 August – that’s the first day of dressage – former British team chef d’equipe and leading trainer Yogi Breisner will be giving a masterclass in the main arena on ‘Better cross-country without hiring a course’ – and he needs a rider.
Applications are now being sought for a horse-and-rider pair competing at BE affiliated competitions at Novice and above, and will remain open for entries until Monday, 7 August.
To apply, send the following information to [email protected]:
  • Rider’s Full Name
  • Horse’s Registered Competition Name
  • Rider Age
  • Horse Age
  • Level competing at
  • Please tell us a bit about you and your horse (no more than 200 words)

Yogi himself, with help from the Burghley team, will select a winner and a reserve, who will be notified by the 14 August. You must be 18+ to enter. Good luck – and Go Eventing!

Eventing and Endangered Species Go Hand-in-Hand at Stable View

By on Aug 2, 2023 9:30 am -

Endangered Red-Cockaged Woodpecker at Stable View. Images by Andrew Lydeard

When I’m binge-watching reels on #EventersofInstagram, I’m expecting to see training videos, tips, maybe some barn drama, or the person who inevitably posts tragic horse fails (can we please stop posting these?). What I wasn’t expecting was to see amazing videos on beekeeping and protecting the local Killdeer population from @StableViewAiken. Curiosity sparked, I did what any writer would do and got the full story from Barry Olliff, who owns Stable View with his wife, Cyndy Olliff. 

Originally, Stable View was a quail hunting lodge. When Barry and Cyndy purchased the property in 2010, they bought the central 160 acres which contained the main building, which used to be the main barn, the kennels, and the woodshed, as well as the scrub land, which is now the cross country field. More recently, they purchased the surrounding 850 acres of conservation land to bring the total acreage up to 1000 acres. Because these 850 acres are technically in a conservation easement, Cyndy and Barry aren’t allowed to make money from this part of the property. Instead, they’re more focused on being good environmental stewards. 

“What we set about doing was maintaining the trails and trying to create a good habitat for birds and animals,” Barry said. “And you do that by effectively returning the land back to the cycle that it would have had up to 100 years ago by having a habitat management program. And then you find the wildlife returns because it’s a better environment for them.”

American Kestrel Nestlings at Stable View. Photo courtesy of MPJ Consulting.

This habitat management program is carefully crafted in collaboration with the Long Leaf Alliance, Mark Pavlosky Jr of MPJ Wildlife Consulting, and, during the early years, flora and fauna expert Keith Bradley. Barry explained that a big part of the habitat management program includes performing controlled burns, in order to mimic the wildfire cycle that would have kept heavy undergrowth at bay 200 years ago. “The way the husbandry works in terms of looking after the land, you manage these fires, you have controlled burns,” Barry said. “You have a system and you go out and you burn certain parts on a rotation, which sort of keeps the safety aspect of it sensible because it doesn’t get out of control. And if you do that every three or four years, you go across parts of the property and create the right habitat for all sorts of different animals and birds.”

On the farm management side of the property, Barry said they try hard to operate the horse stables in an eco-friendly way. Instead of shipping manure off the property, it gets composted and recycled as fertilizer for the cross country course. This closed loop system cuts down on the farm’s carbon footprint from trucks coming in and picking up manure. They also ensure the manure is responsibly located and reused in such a way so that it won’t runoff into the conservation area. 

While owners may still use fly spray and the like to protect their horses from insects, Barry says stable-wide use is limited. “There actually was a system in the main barn which we’ve never used. There’s a big tank in the back that’s not been touched since we bought the property,” Barry said. “You know, dogs, cats, horses, they all lived in the wild. And they survived and they were in good shape. So why are we worried about fly spray for horses?”

Another reason to avoid widespread insecticide use on the farm is the big bee population. In total, Stable View is home to 17 bee hives. To put that in perspective as to the number of bees this has introduced to the farm, each hive contains an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 bees. Last year, they collected 25 gallons of honey. This year, Barry believes they’ll harvest closer to 50 gallons.

“Originally it was an experiment,” Barry said about how beekeeping was introduced to the farm. “I had no idea that we would collect 25 gallons of honey last year. And even less of an idea that we could collect 50 this year.”

While it may have begun as an experiment, Stable View’s beekeeping pursuits are also doing their part to protect the local environment. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, it’s estimated that globally, one in six bee species is regionally extinct and more than 40 percent are vulnerable to extinction.

These habitat management efforts have really paid off. Stable View is now home to much more than just horses. On the property you can find flying squirrels, Quail, Chickadees, Kestrels, Screech Owls, and more. While Barry is not and never has been an avid birdwatcher, he’s quite proud of one bird Stable View’s efforts has attracted: the Red Cockaded Woodpecker. According to All About Birds, “This endangered species is a habitat specialist that is strongly tied to old-growth pine forests that burn frequently, leaving the understory mostly clear of younger pines and hardwoods.”

Installing a Red-Cockaded Woodpecker nest at Stable View. Images by Andrew Lydeard

Stable View has made a concerted effort to increase the population of this endangered woodpecker. Efforts have included carefully crafting nests for the birds, which involves climbing as high as 30 feet up in the air. “Mark [Pavlovsky Jr.] goes up a longleaf pine, about 30 feet, and cuts a square or a rectangle into the tree,” Barry said. “He inserts a man-made nest into the cavity, which replicates what a lazy Red Cockaded Woodpecker would like if it just rolled up with a mate and laid some eggs.”

Red-cockaded woodpeckers aren’t the only rare species on the property. Big three awn grass, Florida rosemary, yellow cucumber tree, Bitmore carrionflower, and Chapman’s triodia were also found on the property. All of these species of flora are tracked by South Carolina as rare, and are classified as imperiled or critically imperiled. 

But it’s not just the endangered or rare species that Barry and Cyndy are caring for. They’re also protecting the local Killdeer population by surrounding their nests with driveway markers so they don’t get stepped on. “It wasn’t really for conservation or anything,” Barry said. “It’s just a nice thing to do, really. We don’t want people to tread on their eggs.”

Barry’s hope for Stable View is that it becomes a place for the entire community, not just equestrians, to get outside and connect with nature. The trails throughout the conservation easement are open to hikers, bikers, and anyone who wants to explore the property and possibly get the chance to spot a Red Cockaded Woodpecker or flying squirrel. 

“We’re trying to get across to non-horse people that there is a community place here that people can come to, and they can walk or they could cycle or they could watch events, but they could be here separately from the horse park,” said Barry. “We’re trying to soften what is otherwise a rather upmarket, superior sport, and make it user friendly and more available to the public. I think one of the best ways of doing that is to talk about other things that people might be interested in separate from riding a horse.”

The beautiful Stable View! Photo courtesy of Barry Oliff.

“Cyndy and I have always felt that we’ve been very fortunate,” Barry said. “We’ve worked hard for what we have, but we also feel we’ve been able to take advantage of opportunities that may not have been afforded to others. There are a lot of people who have not had the opportunities we’ve had. Now, this is our way of giving back. To the extent that we want to say to people that horses have aspects of healing. We want people to know that they can come and walk the trails, come and ride the trails. Come and participate! The barriers of entry are as low as we can possibly make them in terms of pricing, and availability, and accessibility. So, if you want to come out here? Come out here and enjoy nature with us.”

EN is proud to work alongside Stable View throughout each year and enjoys highlighting the many offerings this unique venue and its dedicated team provide. Stay tuned for more Stable View Stories all season long! 

Wednesday News & Notes from Ocala Horse Properties

By on Aug 2, 2023 12:01 am -

The Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing gets underway on Friday for a special 40th anniversary edition.

Held in the grounds of Princess Anne’s house, this spectacular show always attracts a whole host of top riders and this year is no different. Last year’s winner Tim Price will be trying to retain his title, but with Piggy March, Pippa Funnell, Tom McEwen, Oliver Townend, Emily King, Zara Tindall and SO MANY MORE entered, it’ll be all to play for.

The big class at the event is the Magic Millions British Open Championship, which first ran in 1986 when Bruce Davidson and JJ Babu brought home the victory for the U.S.

You can follow all the action on H&C+ (with a subscription). Find out more here.

Festival of British Eventing [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Live Stream] [Live Scores]

Also…

The Mongol Derby is under starters orders and is kicking off today!

Find out how to ride along with this awesome event here.

U.S. Weekend Preview

Area VII Young Rider Benefit H.T. at Caber Farm (Onalaska, WA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials (Iowa City, IA) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Cobblestone Farms H.T. II (Dexter, MI) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]

Early Bird Summer Event at Galway Downs (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Hoosier Horse Trials (Edinburgh, IN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Huntington Farm H.T. (South Strafford, VT) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]

Olney Farm Horse Trials (Joppa, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

River Glen Summer H.T. (New Market, TN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]

Spring Gulch H.T. (Highland, CO) [Website] [Volunteer]

Wednesday News and Reading

Elisa Wallace has a couple of great opportunities at her farm in Reddick, FL. She’s got on-site leases for two of her mustangs on offer as well as lessons in exchange for some part-time work. Both opportunities are beginner-friendly and quite frankly, I’m checking flights from the UK to Florida right now. [See You There]

Piggy March wants to know if anyone has a photo of her and Tilly taking a dip in Badminton Lake in 2018. Not our Tilly (which is what I first thought when I read the post and wondered just what goes on at the cocktail party) – Piggy’s Badminton and Burghley winner Vanir Kamira AKA Tilly Bean. [Did You Catch the Splash?]

Jessie Phoenix has shared the cutest news about what her Pam Am gold medalist and World Championships horse Pavarotti has been getting up to in his retirement. He’s completed his first cross rail class with a very lucky little rider. [Still On Song]

Someone’s Burghley dreams are about to come true… Applications are open to take part in a Yogi Breisner masterclass. A ride round the main arena at Burghley anyone? [Eventing Dreams]

Ooh la la! It’s less than a year ‘til Paris – and Team GB are on the hunt for mascots. Do you know an Olympic-crazy kid between the ages of 5 and 11? Find out how to apply for them to join Team GB at the Paris 2024 Games. [Mini Mascots]

For Sale: Dappled gray schoolmaster – very spooky. This is a for real auction prospect with a precautionary note included in the catalog: “The vendor’s [great] grandfather was a trance medium/ghost hunter in the 1940s, and the horse was used for séances”. OK, so it’s not an actual living horse (or is it?) but if you fancy a punt on this haunted rocking horse, you’ll probably want the Winchesters and Mystery Inc. on speed dial. [Something Strange]

What’s it like to be part of the eventing “tribe” as the owner of a top event horse? Most importantly, fun, according to Patricia Vos, one of the owners of Phillip Dutton’s 5*, Olympic and World Championships ride, Z. There have been ups and downs, celebrations and commiserations, but when you’re surrounded by an “odd little group of people singularly obsessed with this somewhat obscure sport of eventing”, you know you’re in for one hell of a ride. [Owner Spotlight]

Sponsor Corner

15 acres practically next door to WEC? Sign me up! This 15-acre Ocala horse farm features two barns, a riding arena, round pen, and Eurosizer.

Find out more.

Video Break

The dressage display at the Festival of British Eventing in 2018 included a rather unorthodox special guest – Wallace the mule.

Abandoned in Ireland and rescued by the Donkey Sanctuary, Wallace not only found a home when Christie Mclean took him on, but a career too – in dressage.

After some initial queries over his eligibility, Wallace is now fully registered with British Dressage.

Check him out strutting his stuff in the main arena at Gatcombe Park:

Tuesday Video Break: Catching Up with #supergroom Taylor Sherman

By on Aug 1, 2023 4:00 pm -

Taylor Sherman has earned a few stamps on her passport as groom to 5* rider Jenny Roberts. Most recently, she traveled with Jenny and Trendy Fernhill to Poland, where Jenny competed as a member of silver medal-winning Team USA in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup leg at Strzegom.

Taylor caught up with US Equestrian to tell us how she got her start with horses and with grooming, how she runs the barn daily and at competitions, what she enjoys most about the gig, and more.

Want to meet more #supergrooms? Check out our feature profile series here!

Bromont Announces Withdrawal from 2023 FEI Eventing Nations Cup Series

By on Aug 1, 2023 3:30 pm -

The awards podium from the Bromont 2022 FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ with teams from the United States, Canada and Australia. Organizer Sue Ockendon and committee member Peter Gray in front. Photo by Cealy Tetley Photography.

It is with deep regret that the organizing committee of Bromont Horse Trials announce their withdrawal from the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ series for 2023.

The minimum requirements to run an Eventing Nations Cup™ stipulate the participation of three teams and with just days left to the entries deadline, only Canada and America had confirmed their participation.

While teams from Spain and Mexico had expressed interest, extensive logistical issues relating to global travel and import/quarantine were not able to be resolved within the timeline.

“We are obviously frustrated and incredibly disappointed after working so hard to provide the only North American leg of the series in 2022 and again this year,” said event organizer Sue Ockendon. “Our core focus at Bromont has always been to further the development of eventing in Canada and North America, in particular our Teams and Young Riders. We are still 110% committed to delivering a world-class event in 10 days time and have already started the application and approvals process to host a Nations Cup again in 2024. We want to thank the FEI, Equestrian Canada, the EC HPAG Eventing and those Government officials who left no stone unturned in our attempts for this year. In the end we have simply run out of time.”

Emily Gilbert, Chair of the EC High Performance Advisory Group, Eventing said: ”While we are disappointed at the unfortunate cancellation of the Bromont Nations Cup, consistent with our strategic plan, we will use this weekend to provide our Canadian riders with experience and exposure in a team setting. This decision reflects the importance of strengthening our competitiveness across the board in team competition. The named riders for the Bromont Nations Cup Team will continue to receive the bursaries we dedicated to them, and the riders will be led and supported by Chef D’Equipe and Technical Advisor, Rebecca Howard with additional support from Equestrian Canada High Performance in place.”

Entries are strong and still coming in for the August event, which for some is being used as a prep run before heading overseas to compete at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the United Kingdom, one of the largest CCI5* events in the world.

Top horse and rider combinations currently entered include American Olympian Boyd Martin with Tsetserleg and On Cue; Canadian Olympians Jessica Phoenix with Freedom GS and Watson GS and Colleen Loach with FE Golden Eye; Australian Ryan Wood with Cooley Flight, Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo with Dari and Tremanton; Belgian Jan van Gysel with Eiffel de L’Abbaye and Spain’s Susana Tezanos-Moreno with French Kiss.

Although the Nations Cup team competition will not run, the event will still host CCI4*-S, CCI3*-S, CCIU253*-S, CCI2*-S, CCIU252*-S, EV110 and EV100 levels including a Team Challenge. With a venue among the best in the world and cross-country courses designed by Derek DiGrazia (USA) and Jay Hambly (CAN), the MARS Bromont CCI4*, ‘Little Bromont’ and August Bromont CCI4* offer a true test for horse and rider in the perfect ‘summer resort’ setting.

To enter visit www.evententries.com. Follow us on social media at @bromontcci.

Between the Ears with Jennie Saville

By on Aug 1, 2023 12:00 pm -

It seems like these days we look at each other’s lives through the lens of a highlight reel. We get to see the incredible trips, the best jumps, and the moments that we’re proud enough of to put on social media. What we don’t talk about is how much pressure this adds to athletes on both ends of the news feed.

Riders, whether professional or not, are made to feel like they ‘have to’ post something that makes them look cool and successful. Then, as we consume this content, we are stuck with the disillusioned perception that the sport is easy and that if you’re not succeeding, then maybe you aren’t cut out for it. I would like to take this opportunity to go ‘between the ears’ of some of the riders that make up our Eventing Nation and work to understand some of the real challenges this industry presents.

To read more from the Between the Ears series, click here.

Jennie Saville and Stella Artois. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

As a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, I am privy to hearing the journeys of riders from different disciplines at different stages in their career. Working on this series for Eventing Nation has given me even more insight into what riders at the top of this sport are feeling and experiencing — and it’s been awesome. Awesome to hear how open riders are about sharing the ins and outs of all the hard things that we rarely see on social media. Awesome to have readers reach out and tell me how the article helped them with something that they were struggling with.

This edition of Between the Ears is going to be a little bit different because I was on the sidelines witnessing and experiencing many of these events along with Jennie. When we sat down to do the interview for this article, we both marveled at the fact that this is the first time that we’ve had a chance to really reflect on the hardships and successes that we faced together. I know that I’ve learned a lot from Jennie and I hope that by writing this article, you guys can learn from her journey too.

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s hear about how it all started…

“I got my start in riding in this little town in Illinois, just doing trail riding at a local barn. I ended up taking some lessons and doing some endurance riding. One day, I heard about three-day eventing — and I know this sounds crazy because I laugh when people say things like this, but I swear I heard about it, and I was like, ‘That’s what I should do for a living.’ And I remember having the paper omnibus in my hand and just thinking it was the coolest thing in the world even though I didn’t know what it was.”

Jennie followed this dream, and her intuition and eventually found her horse of a lifetime, Cooper. In 2008, Jennie won the Young Rider Championship on Cooper and just a year later was sent overseas to do her very first CCI4*-L competition at Bramham. “Cooper won a lot. And because of that, I had all this false confidence and put a lot of pressure on myself,” Jennie says. At Bramham, the pair was first after the dressage, but after picking up a 20 on cross country, they dropped out of the top placings.

Jennie recalls the experience as a big hit to her confidence:

“When I had that 20 at Bramham, it felt like my world was over, which is silly to think about now. Perspective is crazy, but when you get a taste of success and winning, it’s easy to become obsessed with it. At the time, it was this huge loss for me and now my time with Cooper is just a fraction of my career and I bet a ton of people don’t even know who he was.”

Fast forward 12 years and dozens of horses later and we arrive in another confidence-testing time for Jennie, where I just so happen to be along for the ride.

Jennie Brannigan and Stella Artois. Photo by Sally Spickard.

After the challenges we all faced in 2020, 2021 was looking to be an exciting year for multiple reasons. Plans that were put on hold became “full steam ahead” and we had Stella Artois (Toddie) and FE Lifestyle (Foxy) on track to do their first 5* at the Kentucky. The spring season leading up to Kentucky did not come without its challenges (because…horses) but we arrived in Kentucky ready. Unfortunately, after Foxy put in an incredible cross country round, Toddie went down in the water in a seemingly “freak accident” kind of fall. With Jennie and Toddie both OK, we were soon thereafter making arrangements to give it another go at Luhmühlen, a little over six weeks later. After a misjudged distance and a fall for Jennie early on in the course, Toddie’s 5* status was yet again put on hold.

“That was a time where I felt most defeated,” Jennie explains. “I remember going up to Erik (Duvander) and saying ‘This horse deserves to be famous, I think Boyd should ride her’ and I was questioning my abilities. And then there was so much other stuff going on in our lives, it felt like a really difficult spot to pull out of. But Erik has always been there believing in me. Even after Luhmühlen, I was put on the Boekelo team with Foxy and he selected me to be the anchor of the team and I thought ‘Wow, why? He still believes in me? That’s crazy.’ And then I was in a position where I needed to go clean for the team and I did and Erik said to me ‘This is the rider you are, this is the real you’ and I swear, ever since then I’ve been completely different.”

Coming off the high of Boekelo, Jennie and I flew back to the States and headed immediately to the 2021 Maryland 5 Star, where Toddie not only completed for the first time but did it in style with a fourth place finish.

Jennie’s ability to keep moving forward through hard times has always impressed me. As a student of Sport Psychology, I’ve always stopped to wonder “how?” How do you find the confidence within yourself to continue to get back out there with past failures staring you in the face? How are you not afraid? How can you turn it around and be so successful?

But I know how because I watched it. I was a fly on the wall for almost every lesson that Jennie took, and I don’t think Erik had anything truly negative to say. He never criticized weakness, he simply helped support, encourage, and find solutions. I think that style of coaching helped Jennie to let go of the need to win and refocus on the steps she needed to take to be successful — ironic isn’t it? The more we latch onto the outcome the further and further away we get from what we are supposed to be doing.

Jennie Brannigan and Twilightslastgleam. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

In many ways, Jennie has kept the momentum of 2021 going, adding Twlightslastgleam (Comic), an OTTB with just about every physical limitation betting against him, to her 5* roster — but unfortunately in this game, there are always bumps in the road. One of the most recent bumps came in the form of Toddie breaking down just a few fences from home at Kentucky this year. Toddie is now happily recovering at the Gardners’ farm in Chester County, PA — but obviously, that event was an emotional one. Jennie shared with me some of her thoughts on the situation:

“For me, one of the biggest obstacles in eventing is loving these horses and caring about them and having something happen where they get hurt and you kind of have to just be tough enough to keep on going. With Toddie, I couldn’t even go on the ambulance with her because I still had to get on and ride Foxy, and that takes some real compartmentalization for me because I am an extremely sensitive person. But once the heat of the moment is passed and I’ve done what I need to do, I want to be able to talk about it.

“I feel like these things happen and so many people just say ‘this is a tough sport’ and you end up not talking about it. But I don’t think it’s something we should ignore. When Toddie swapped leads twice on course, I didn’t think twice about the fact that I had to pull her up. I think so close to home that if you’re so focused on winning or finishing, it would be easy to just keep going. I’m not sure the old me would have made the decision to pull her up and I have no doubt in my mind that Toddie would have tried to keep going, but you have to be a horseman first.

“We can’t ignore the realities of the sport and horses do get hurt, but if it’s happening to you all the time, I think you have to ask where your priorities are. I know competing is about winning, and don’t get me wrong, I still love winning but the result on paper doesn’t tell the whole story. You could be winning every single horse trial on the calendar but sacrificing horsemanship to do it, and I think that horsemanship should count into how successful you feel.

Jennie Saville and Pascal claim victory in Montana. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

“The reality is we’re going to spend more time in this sport losing than we are winning — and that counts for riders like Michael Jung too. Being a good boss, taking time off to ensure you don’t get burnt out, and listening to what your horse needs should all be a part of what ‘winning’ means to you. Pulling up Toddie was a win because she’s a friend and partner to me regardless of if she ever crosses the finish flag at an event again. Heck, even finishing seventeenth place on Comic was a win, because I know he tried his heart out. Yes, you want to win, but ask yourself ‘What else is going on in my life and with my horses?’

“Being honest with yourself is an important quality to have. If you make a mistake, you have to own up to it instead of making an excuse or lying to yourself about it. I don’t feel like any less of a rider because I can admit that Tamie Smith is better at dressage than me – it just makes me want to learn from her and it inspires me to be better, so I have her teach me.

“I’ve found this sort of in-between space, where things like Comic having a pin at Kentucky or FE Connery slipping between fences at Rebecca Farm don’t faze me like that 20 I had at Bramham so many years ago — but at the same time, I’m always working to make my horses the best they can possibly be. Winning has become a byproduct of that mindset, not my only obsession or source of self-worth.”

It’s OK to set big audacious goals — we’re naturally inclined to. But when you feel yourself struggling or falling short of what you set out to accomplish, you have to be able to pause and think about what’s really important. Chances are, it’s already right in front of you.