Classic Eventing Nation

Stef George: Technology Etiquette for Contacting Your Barn Manager

By on Nov 11, 2013 4:30 pm -

Many thanks to Stef George for sending in this lighthearted look at the best ways to communicate with the barn managers in our lives. As the barn manager of White Fox Equestrian Center in western Pennsylvania, we imagine Stef speaks from years of unread emails experience. Go barn managers!

From Stef:

Enjoy these good rules of thumb for contacting your barn manager. Listed in preference from most to least preferred:

1. Regular, old-fashioned phone calls — Usually gets the message delivered the best and in the briefest time frame, however don’t call before 8 a.m. or after 10 p.m. unless something is dead/dying/bleeding profusely/on fire/flooded. Unless the message is one simple instruction, then refer to #2.

2. Text messages — Very good for sending simple instructions, like: “Please put Mr. Neigh Neigh’s bell boots on before he goes out today because there is a full moon tonight and he likes to kick off his loose shoes under the pale moon light on alternating Tuesdays.” Not good for full-blown conversations. Texting is tiresome and not easy to accomplish while wrestling Mr. Neigh Neigh and his friends, filling water buckets or mucking stalls. So if you know the conversation is going to have a lot of back and forth, then refer back to #1.

And also remember that those of us who own/manage large, furry, four-legged creatures tend to have the cell phones on at all times, so please don’t text before 8 a.m. or after 10 p.m. unless something is dead/dying/bleeding profusely/on fire/flooded.

3. Post-it note — If you’re anti-technology or a pesky water bucket ate your phone, you can always leave a post-it. We luv post-its. Post-its with smiley faces are a bonus!

4. E-mail — We tend to be running around all day, so parking in front of a computer to check e-mails is a rare occurrence and maybe something we only have time to do on our days off (Ha! Like THAT happens!). So if you email something to us, it is best to let us know that you have so we check it. (You can send one of those text messages for this purpose.) Otherwise, you would have better luck reaching us by carrier pigeon.

Mary King Issued a Yellow Card at Le Lion d’Angers

By on Nov 11, 2013 3:00 pm -

Mary King and Imperial Cavalier. Photo by Abby Gibbon.

Horse & Hound has reported that Mary King received a yellow warning card at the Young Event Horse Championships at Le Lion d’Angers in October. Competing Cavalier Venture in the CCI2*, Mary received a yellow card for “dangerous riding” on the cross-country course.

From H&H:

“He’s a young horse and he spooked into the first water and landed on all 4 [feet], before having a stop at the fence out,” said Mary.

“It was his first ever stop. They said I shouldn’t have pushed him and should have turned him before the jump coming out.”

Mary said she didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

“I was very surprised. I was just riding him forward into a small set of rails coming out — if it had been a 5-bar gate then I would have turned him, but my reaction was just to kick on,” she said.

Without any photo or video to review to find out what the ride actually looked like, it is hard to decipher the situation from an outsider’s perspective. Yellow cards are given out at FEI discretion on a “first offense” basis, with additional cards carrying stiffer penalties.

Read more on H&H here.

The Pains and Joys of Selling a Horse

By on Nov 11, 2013 1:30 pm -

We all intimately know the struggles involved with buying a horse and how it is simultaneously the most exciting and wondrous thing you could be doing, as well as the most exhausting and horrific experience possible. You’re searching high and wide for a horse that matches all your qualifications: height, ability, style, temperament, sex, price bracket, soundness … and you know somewhere this horse exists, but where in the wide world you’re not sure.

And let’s be honest here: Along with car salesmen, horse agents get a bad rap — and not always for unfounded reasons. When you’re dealing with thousands of dollars built on a moment of truth or dishonesty, there are a lot of people who choose the latter in order to get the deal finished. As buyers, we usually enter into the interaction with a certain amount of suspicion, either instilled in us by our peers and mentors or taught to us the hard way.

From the other side of the stick, however, it can be just as confusing. I get to meet awesome people through passing my horses along to different homes. I get to (hopefully) watch as these horses that I brought up from nothing flourish with their new person and build a strong relationship. There’s nothing better than getting a picture sent to me of a happy match; it’s a bit like being the cupid for horses and people.

However, the natural suspicion held by buyers, while understandable, is sometimes difficult for me as the seller. I get lots of questions that I know are designed to suss out my honesty, and I can only respond with the most open answers I have to gain the trust of a stranger. I’m not really a horse agent; I simply have one horse who is “the chosen one” and the rest must at some point find another home in order to sustain my pursuits with my big horse.

I understand that this is a complexity that can’t disappear, and the trust between strangers exchanging horseflesh and thousands of dollars isn’t going to be automatic. I also know that inevitably and unintentionally, I have at some point offended a buyer or made the wrong step and confirmed their theories on shady horse dealers. My goal is to be the most conscientious person that I can be and represent the horse to the best of my abilities. After all, what is the point about lying during the trial period? Your horse will go to a rider who possibly isn’t suitable, and neither party will be satisfied. Then I get no pictures of happy couples in the mail at Christmas!

Monday Video from Tredstep Ireland: Adelaide Preview

By on Nov 11, 2013 12:00 pm -

It’s Adelaide week! An all-star field of Aussies and Kiwis — and one Brit! — are set to tackle the Southern Hemisphere’s only four-star event. It’s also the only four-star that runs through a major city, as the cross-country course is set in the bustling Adelaide Parklands, which creates a unique experience for spectators and competitors alike. Adelaide released a fun promo video that shows glimpses of the cross-course course, which we’ll show a full preview of on Friday when CrossCountryApp.com releases a course walk complete with commentary from Paul Tapner, Clayton Fredericks and Sam Griffiths. Stay tuned for much more from Adelaide!

Adelaide Links: [Website] [Entries]

New Water Complex Planned for Badminton

By on Nov 11, 2013 10:30 am -

Scoping out the site of the new water complex. Photo courtesy of Badminton's Facebook page.

Italian course designer Giuseppe della Chiesa has begun making his mark on the 2014 Badminton cross-country course in his first year on the job, and he’s most notably introducing a new water complex to the world-famous venue. Giuseppe, who is contracted to design the Badminton course for three years, discovered a large pond near Luckington Lake in September when he spent two days exploring the grounds. The site has since been surveyed and deemed appropriate to overhaul as a new water complex.

Other work is also underway on the grounds, and Badminton is reporting that new landscaping has already been added to many of the most recognizable fence locations. Giuseppe’s 2014 course signifies big changes for Badminton, as event director Hugh Thomas had designed the course since 1989. While Giuseppe is already introducing new elements, he made it clear in a statement to Horse & Hound earlier this year that his goal as course designer remains “evolution, not revolution.”

From Badminton’s website:

Work is well under way on the innovations that Giuseppe della Chiesa is bringing to the Badminton cross-country course. The most spectacular change will be the incorporation of a new water complex, using a large pond at the top of the small hill next to the Luckington Lane — not far from the well-known jump site, the Vicarage Vee. The pond was discovered when Giuseppe spent two days at Badminton in September, taking a fresh look at the whole area used for the cross country.

It was then surveyed by Alan Willis and his team as Giuseppe watched to see just how deep it is. Vegetation has now been cleared and work started to make a firm underwater surface and to install pipework to enable the level of water to be controlled. This pond is naturally fed by springs and has never dried out in the memory of the Duke of Beaufort or anyone else on the estate.

The 2014 course as a whole is now essentially planned. Grounds work has been completed to introduce landscaping features at several of the well-known fence locations, as the course will visit all the traditional spots in Badminton Park, such as The Quarry, Huntsmans Close, The Lake, the Bank and the Vicarage Ditch. As usual, the direction will be reversed from 2013 and run in a clockwise direction with The Quarry close to the end of the track.

Happy Veterans Day from Eventing Nation

By on Nov 11, 2013 9:00 am -

Illustration by Lindsey Kahn

To all veterans, active and retired, Eventing Nation would like to extend our sincere gratitude for your service.

Happy Veterans Day. Go Eventing.

Monday News and Notes from Success Equestrian

By on Nov 11, 2013 12:01 am -

Blackjack, the last of the United States Army Quartermaster issued horses. Photo by Ron Williams, from arlingtoncemetary.net

Today many people in the US will be enjoying a day off of work for Veterans Day.  In Commonwealth countries, a similar day of observance is happening, known as Remembrance Day.  Today is more than just another “bank holiday”.  To all of those that have served, both human and equine, thank you.

Weekend Results:

CDCTA Fall H.T. [Final Scores]

Poplar Place Farm November H.T. [Final Scores]

Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. [Final Scores]

Monday News and Notes:

Our sport has a historic connection to the military and the testing of cavalry mounts, so it is especially appropriate that eventers take note of this day and remember those that have served. Robin Crickman of Dancing Horse Hill wrote in to let us know that in honor of Veterans’ Day they are offering a free schooling day on their cross country course to any who would like to come out.  [Dancing Horse Hill is located in Elmwood, Wisconsin.  [Dancing Horse Hill on Facebook]

We all know it’s hard to make a living in the horse industry.  It’s a job that requires long hours and a watchful eye on your stable.  To be successful you’ve always got to be bringing in new clients, you’ve always gotta be hustling.  Even if you’ve got a full barn, you might still need to find some secondary sources of income… like say running a brothel. [UK Horse Riding Instructor Was Also Brothel Madam]

The USDA has responded to the appeal filed int the 10th District Circuit Court in an attempt to stop horse-processing at a New Mexico plant.  The Food Safety Inspection Service is not forbidden by law from inspecting horse processing plants.  The USDA indicates that the Federal Meat Inspection act applies to “cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules and other equines”.  The “other equines” part sort of has me scratching my head.  Are we ever going to have so many zebras in the US that we’re sending them to slaughter? [USDA Responds To Horse Processing Plant Appeal]

The US Dressage Finals were this past weekend and were full of sweet stories.  In addition to Fynn the PMU horse competing at Grand Prix there was also a super cute Appaloosa pony named Pedro competing at First Level.  Owner Marsha Lewis has also evented Pedro a bit, winning two Beginner Novice events in 2008.  [COTH: I Can’t Believe We Made It Here]

The USEF Young Horse Championship Symposium has wrapped up.  Representatives from Driving, Dressage, Eventing, Hunters and Jumpers were all present and discussed strategies to develop young horses and championships for all disciplines under the USEF banner.  Hopefully this symposium will push forward efforts at further development of young horses in the US.  [USEF Young Horse Championship Symposium]

Sad news from Australia, where a female jockey has died just one week after riding four winners in one day.  Desiree Gill sustained critical injuries when her mount Celtic Ambition clipped the heels of another horse and launched her in to the turf.  Her death follows shortly after the death of another Australian female jockey, Simone Montgomerie in August.  [More from dailymail.co.uk]

Monday Video: The US Army Caisson Platoon.

Horse Euthanized After Fall at Poplar Place

By on Nov 10, 2013 10:17 pm -

It’s with heavy hearts that we’ve learned of a horse death that occurred this morning at Poplar Place Farm’s November horse trials. Jacel Galloway of Covington, Ga., and her horse Visionary Patriarch, a Cleveland Bay gelding, fell at fence 7 on the Open Preliminary cross-country course. According to a press release posted on the Poplar Place website, Jacel was not injured in the fall, but the horse suffered critical injuries and was humanely euthanized at the accident site. The EN team sends our deepest condolences to Jacel and all who knew Visionary Patriarch. RIP.

From Poplar Place press release:

This morning, November 10, at Poplar Place Farm November Horse Trials, rider Jacel Galloway from Covington, Ga., had a fall at fence 7. Rider, Jacel, was not hurt in the fall, but her horse Visionary Patriarch was critically injured and was humanely euthanized at the site of the accident.

The committee extends its heartfelt condolences to Jacel Galloway for this wonderful and courageous horse.

Best of Craigslist: Looking for a Horse Trainer?

By on Nov 10, 2013 2:56 pm -

Do you need your horse broke to ride upside down? Here’s your guy…

 

 

D.J HORSE BREAKING Offers Training , Exercising , Lessons , And Breaking . I have been training and exercising sense i was 8 years old and love what i do . I also have been running the national barrel horse association (NBHA) circuit sense i was 8 . I have been to Lexington Virginia world nationals and won . I also trained a 12 year old girl last year and she took 1st in the blountstown saddle club and won a saddle an also now starting to run NBHA and has been winning on her horse . It doesn’t matter if the horse is wild , crazy , bucks we know how to handle them , So If you need a horse trained to run barrels , just to ride , trail horse , or just a tottally bomb proof horse that will do what ever you ask we are the people to call . We can do Hourly , Weekly , Monthly or what ever we negotiate.

 

 

A Virtual Horse as Art?

By on Nov 10, 2013 12:15 pm -

 

Wired.com recently brought to my attention a new work of art– a virtual horse that takes shape as more people stop to view it.  The piece, titled Looking at a Horse, just finished a showing at a digital arts festival in Brighton, England.

From Wired:

You walk into a dark room and projected on the wall in front of you is a frenzied mass of dots. A friend walks in and the dots are connected by a wireframe body–the thing you’re watching, you realize, is a galloping horse. As more viewers trickle in, the horse continues to evolve, adding polygonal musculature and a shimmering skin. Eventually, when enough people are watching, the beast transcends its earthly form and transforms into some other ghostly, ethereal thing entirely. Then, as people filter out of the room, it goes through the same process in reverse, dissolving back to the elemental cloud of points.

What you’re seeing is Looking at a Horse by Evan Boehm, an artwork that becomes more beautiful with each new pair of eyes trained upon it. It’s a clever piece, pairing striking animation and some simple body-tracking software to investigate a very basic question: What does it mean to look at a piece of art?

(read full article)

 

While I suppose it’s cool to have horses (and anatomically-correctly-moving ones, at that) included in a nouveau art display, it doesn’t quite inspire me.  Because as we all know, nothing beats looking at a horse– a real one– even if he’s just standing outside eating grass.  As much as it tries, this art has nothing on real life.