The USEA reported this afternoon that the FEI has released two new dressage tests for the CCI/CIC levels. Both CCI/CIC3* Test A and CCI/CIC2* Test B have been replaced to allow for “a better view of the changes for the E or B judges and more logical flow of movements,” according to the FEI. The tests go into effect July 1. See below for PDFs of the tests, which are also on the FEI website.
The FEI has released two new dressage tests for 2014 for the CI levels. The CI3* Test A, and CI2* Test B have been replaced, but these new tests will not be effective until July 1st, 2014, giving riders ample time to make adjustments.
From the FEI: “The Eventing Dressage Tests, CI3*A and CI2*B have been updated to include a better view of the changes for the E or B judges and more logical flow of the movements (changes have been highlighted in red).
These tests have been reviewed by Mr. Chris Bartle, Christoph Hess, Mrs. Gillian Rolton and other FEI Eventing Officials.
The Eventing Committee have agreed that the revised tests will be implemented as of July 1st, 2014.
You’re not the only one going crazy being cooped up thanks to this winter from hell. Watch this Thoroughbred filly totally lose it after having just one gallop in five days at Crocker Racing Stables in Laurel, Md. Thanks to EN reader Marjean for sending in the video.
Ryan Miller’s 2014 Olympic mask. Photo copyright Ray Bishop of Bishop Designs.
Photos of Team USA goalie Ryan Miller’s 2014 Sochi Olympic mask have reportedly sparked a movement for more intimidating helmet designs for the 2016 U.S. Olympic eventing team in Rio. Designer Ray Bishop of Bishop Designs released the hockey helmet images early this week, showing artwork of a screaming bald eagle with demon eyes and a beefy Uncle Sam showing off his USA tattoo.
Concept image of Phillip Dutton modeling the Screaming Eagle design.
“I’ve been saying for years that we need a screaming bald eagle on the front of our international helmets, because, you know, this is America,” EN founder John Thier said. The push for helmets that capture the fighting spirit of ‘Merica has reportedly been largely well received by riders. The USEF Eventing High Performance Committee could not be reached for comment, probably because they are busy voting to approve the designs.
Concept image of Lynn Symansky modeling the Uncle Sam design.
Have you ever wondered if Phillip Dutton can juggle? If Kristi Nunnink can surf? If Will Coleman can say the alphabet backwards? Or how about Buck Davidson’s favorite vacation spot? Hannah Sue Burnett’s favorite food? The name of Colleen Rutledge’s first pony? And we all know Leslie is dying to ask whether Boyd Martin wears boxers or briefs.
Here’s your chance to submit a list of questions for your favorite rider to answer in our new series Burning Questions. Just comment below (or send an email to [email protected]) with the name of your favorite rider and what you’d like to ask him or her. We’ll randomly select a winner and help you get the answers to your burning questions.
Spoiler alert: The main reason to watch the Super Bowl, the Budweiser Clydesdale commercial, has just been released on YouTube! This means you can watch it now and enjoy Sunday with your equine friends instead of glued to the couch waiting for the commercials. Also, the Clydesdale in the commercial has cute knees and a decent canter; maybe he wants to become someone’s Novice superstar?
Phillip Dutton’s Red Oak Farm is buried under snow this morning. Photo via Cobie Sheehan.
A crippling blizzard has brought Aiken to its knees this morning. The Aiken Standard reported that the area received between 1 and 4 inches of snow, leaving roadways in treacherous conditions. By 7:30 a.m. EST this morning, the South Carolina Highway Patrol had responded to 1,240 incidents related to icy roads.
Intrepid EN reporter Kate Samuels was caught right in the middle of the blizzard. When I asked her how much it actually snowed in her area, she told me the grave news: “Two inches. For South Carolina, it’s unbelievable. Nobody knows how to be.” Kate put her own life in peril to bring us this photo of the hazardous road conditions:
May God have mercy on our souls.
Eventers took to Facebook early this morning to post snow photos and statuses, letting their loved ones and relatives back home know they were safe. Here’s a look at how the snow is impacting Colleen Rutledge, Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton. We haven’t seen Facebook photos from many other riders yet, leading us to fear the worst.
Colleen Rutledge’s winter base. Photo via Brian Rutledge.
Phillip Dutton’s Red Oak Farm is buried under snow this morning. Photo via Cobie Sheehan.
Boyd Martin’s winter base. Photo via Caitlin Silliman.
Thankfully, Doug Payne’s dog Nolin thought to bring her winter coat to Aiken for perilous times such as these:
The USEF Eventing High Performance training sessions were supposed to start at 9 a.m. this morning at Stable View Farm, but they’ve been postponed due to the icy road conditions.
Stay safe, Aikenites. Godspeed as you weather the great blizzard of 2014.
Update 10 a.m. EST: Brave Aikenite Lynsey Ekema ventured into the snowy wonderland to bring us this message that she’s OK. We’re glad to see the snow hasn’t crushed the spirit of red on right, white on left, insanity in the middle.
Phillip Dutton and Mr Medicott. Photo by Kate Samuels
Today dawned the second day of USEF High Performance Training Sessions here in Aiken, and true to tradition at this point, it was positively freezing. The unseasonably bitter wind combined with the freshly clipped horses who are just starting to feel pretty fit made for some very energetic mounts today and some hard-working riders.
I was able to get to Stable View Farm early in the morning, dressed in all of the clothes that I brought to South Carolina. I caught the tail end of Phillip Dutton’s lesson with Mr Medicott (Cave) and then the full lesson with Jan Byyny on Fair Hill CCI3* winner Inmidair (JR) and Lillian Heard on Share Option (Whitey). All of these horses are very experienced at the Advanced level and beyond, and most of them are just beginning to get fit and have bigger jump schools in preparation for the first events of the year in February. In much the same way as the dressage lessons yesterday were aimed at figuring out where the horses were in their training and preparation, today’s jump lessons were not incredibly intense, but more aimed at working on the basics for both horse and rider.
Caption this! (Kim Severson, Will Faudree and Will Coleman). Photo by Kate Samuels.
Today, Cave looked a lot more enthralled with his work and was unsurprisingly perhaps a little too enthusiastic at times. He’s an incredibly experienced horse having completed seven CCI4* competitions and an excellent jumper, but often known as one that you see on cross country with a variety of large bits and contraptions on his head to keep his enthusiasm under control. Phillip, on the other hand, can almost never be seen riding a horse with more than a snaffle, and today he was riding in a simple eggbutt with a figure eight, and it seemed to be working well enough.
The exercises that David set up involved a lot of bending lines and oxers to get the horses up and using their backs, but also staying responsive and listening to their riders on the backsides of fences. Phillip and Cave worked a lot on the effectiveness of the half halts in terms of using them to transition weight and balance to the hind end instead of just slowing down the front end. As an incredibly experienced and clever horse, Cave sometimes feels that he knows better and has no problem getting right up underneath the jumps. The pair, sometimes at odds last fall while getting to know one another, seem much more well adjusted to one another’s styles this spring. With their combined experience, this is great news for their prospects as members of the WEG team.
Jan Byyny and Inmidair. Photo by Kate Samuels.
Jan and JR are your reigning Fair Hill CCI3* champions, and both were looking ready to go after a winter break. JR has an unusual jumping style, and my hat is off to Jan for her ability to stay with him when he flies up in the air two feet over the jumps. David worked with them to keep the motor running from behind when approaching combinations so that they could soften and be quiet the last few strides, as opposed to waiting more on the approach and having to accelerate into the first jump.
David asked Jan to get JR a little rounder through his back on the way to the fences and for her to keep her butt a little more off the saddle, keeping her weight light on his back. JR responded with even bigger jumps, but a little more rideability in between the fences. Hopefully we will see this pair at Rolex in the spring.
Lillian Heard and Share Option. Photo by Kate Samuels.
Lillian and Whitey were also in this jump lesson, having earned a place on the training lists through the merit of their solid performances at Jersey Fresh and Fair Hill this past year. This horse always amazes me with his seemingly nonchalant attitude and impeccable form over every fence. The other two horses were positively raring to go and seemed to be more like your typical naughty and slightly chilly upper-level horse, but Whitey was just loping over the bigger fences like it was a walk in the park.
This lesson started with a simple raised pole exercise through which the riders were asked to put two strides and three strides in between. While this may seem simplistic, it’s a very easy way to measure connection and rideability without putting too much concussion on the horses. David asked Lillian to work more on her tendency to stay focused on the first jump, even as she was clearing it. “NEXT NEXT NEXT” he chanted, as she quickly readjusted her eyes and balance to be planning for the next obstacle. As they moved on to actual jumps, David worked with her to prepare for the first fence better by bringing the whole horse around the turn from the hindquarters instead of turning the front end and assuming that the proper connection was there. Whitey was very unfazed and jumped everything very well.
Tomorrow is the final day of training sessions, although I will be unable to attend. The riders will be doing more dressage, and I expect it to be more challenging than the first day. If you have any interest in attending, the schedule can be found HERE on the USEF High Performance Facebook Page.
Waitangi Notebook at the Virginia CCI*. Photo by Kate Samuels.
We recently reported that Waitangi Notebook, or Mouse, had suffered a serious injury after a pasture accident. Lynn has kept news on the mare quiet as she battles back, understandably not wanting to jinx any good news. We are pleased to report that today Lynn said that Mouse has officially been given the go ahead to leave the hospital. This is wonderful news, and we wish Mouse the speediest of recoveries as she beats the odds.
From Lynn’s Facebook:
“I’ve been pretty quiet about Mouse since her accident over two weeks ago because she’s been beating all the odds and I haven’t wanted to jinx anything. She still has a long road to recovery ahead, but she got the OK to leave the hospital today I owe a huge thank you to Dr. Sarah Dukti and everyone at Piedmont Equine for taking such great care of her, and to Po Tatham who will be taking her in and handling her care for awhile. And a GIANT thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and prayers, it’s been a sad time in our sport and I’m blessed that the power of positive thinking seems to be helping my little fighting Mouse.”
Cathy Wieschhoff just informed us that the University of Kentucky eventing team is joining forces with the school’s dressage team to form a sledjoring team. Team members Liz Wise, Hannah Forte, Hannah Kembel, Kimmy Cecere, Sophie Ward and Aileen O’Brien have been busily preparing for their first sledjoring competition, as you’ll see in their training footage video.
When asked why the team decided to take up sledjoring, Cathy, the team’s coach, said it was out of sheer desperation for something to do. “With so much snow on the ground and temperatures so cold, they literally ran out of ways to occupy their time,” Cathy said. “They actually started polishing the D-rings on all the saddles in the tack room. Who does that?”
Kimmy’s mare Scarlett O’Hara, who competes at Preliminary level during months when the world isn’t frozen, serves as the anchor horse for the team, and she seems to be learning the ropes well in the video. You’ll also catch a glimpse of Kimmy’s dog Kaya, the official team mascot, who takes her duties very seriously, Kimmy said.
“Kaya insists on being there for every team practice,” Kimmy said. “We almost lost her during one practice when the polar vortex winds blew her across the arena. Thankfully, she had a soft landing with so much snow covering the footing — not that I remember what the footing looks like. What’s footing, again?”
The team is currently borrowing a sled from Cathy’s son, Lucas, but they’ll be selling homemade snow cones on UK’s campus while the polar vortex continues to raise the funds they need to purchase their own equipment. “We just thought with so much snow on the ground it made sense to put it to good use,” Liz Wise, team captain, said. “Oh, God. What am I saying? Get me out of here!”
Sounds like a Disney movie in the making. Step aside, Jamaican bobsled team. It’s sledjoring season. Only 50 days until spring.
The USEF Network put together this super cool side-by-side video of the top two tests in the FEI Grand Prix CDI-W during week three of the 2014 Adequan Global Dressage Festival held last week in Wellington, Fla. Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven and Divertimento, on the left of the video, won on a score of 75.00%, with Lars Peterson and Mariett, on the right in the video, finishing second with a score of 73.32%. As a heads up, the commentary on the clip refers only to to Tinne’s ride. Thanks, USEF Network!
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Photo by Eric Swinebroad.
