Classic Eventing Nation

Condolences to the Family and Friends of Christine Brown

By on Jul 11, 2013 8:55 am -


Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Christine Brown, a event rider from Versailles, KY.  Yesterday, her husband Dr. Stuart Brown (a vet at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute) came home to find her dead from an apparent riding accident. She was wearing a helmet, but it seems she suffered a fatal fall while jumping alone.  Christine had ridden up to Intermediate level, winning a preliminary division at Midsouth Team Challenge in 2010 with her mare Rivella.

From LEX 18 News:

Wednesday morning Brown did as she always had, and practiced jumping her horse. Unfortunately Brown was all alone at home. “It appears the horse crashed into one of the hurdles and threw her off,” said Woodford County Coroner Ronald Owens.

Brown’s husband came home hours later and found the horse wandering the field. “He knew something was wrong because the bridle was broke on it and he went looking for his wife and found her laying in the arena,” said Owens.

It’s a risk all riders take, however it is an accident no one saw coming. “Its very surprising for here… because it really don’t happen,” said Boyer.

Now as tears are shed, and family moves forward. Friends and neighbors remember the sweet caring woman they loved, who died doing what she loved. “She was always happy always friendly, just really sweet all around and a good horse person,” said Brinsfield.

“I hope her husband is alright, I hope her family is alright, I hope they can get through this,” said Hodge.

The Woodford County Coroner said Brown was wearing her helmet and was an experienced rider. Her autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

–

[via Paulick Report]

Thursday Reader from Devoucoux

By on Jul 11, 2013 12:33 am -

The Alternative Dressage Training Scale

Happy Thursday Eventing Nation! This weekend I will be participating in my very first recognized dressage show, in Lexington Virginia. Nyls and I will be contesting a few 3rd level tests and I’m excited for a number of reasons. First reason? I’m hoping to snoop on all the prissy dressage riders and gawk at their strange habits. Second reason? I get to watch some really excellent dressage in person, at the top levels, which isn’t something I get to experience often.

Events This Weekend:

The Maryland H.T. at Loch Moy Farm II: [Website] [Entry Status]

Champagne Run at the Park: [Website] [Entry Status/Times]

Coconino Summer I: [Website] [Entry Status/Times]

Chattahoochee Hills HT: [Website] [Entry Status]

Roebke’s Run HT: [Website] [Ride Times]

University of New Hampshire HT: [Website] [Entry Status/Times]

Riga Meadow HT: [Website] [Ride Times]

 

News from around the globe:

Best news of the day is that Sinead has been moved out of the ICU. Her twitter reports: “moved out of ICU & looks like I’ll be out in the next day or so.. Lung lookin better ribs r a killer & shoulder blade is annoying #smooshed”. We wish her all the best in her speedy recovery, because a collapsed lung, some broken ribs and a busted shoulder blade is no walk in the park! [Sinead’s Twitter]

Another injured Eventer across the pond, Laura Collett, is still in a medically induced coma to allow her collapsed lungs to heal. Laura will remain sedated until this afternoon, when she will be woken up again to check her status. She suffered a terrible rotational fall at Tweseldown on Monday, and has been in the hospital ever since. Sending love your way Laura! [Collett Eventing Updates]

Ever wonder what is the perfect time to move up a level? Mary King says that it depends solely on how consistently the horse is performing at the level, but it’s not about points. Piggy French advises that it is always better to wait a little too long than to move up too soon, and to ask for help when making the decision. Check out more top riders’ views on the big move up. [When To Move Up?]

West Coast Training Sessions start today at 8:30 at Woodside in California. Coach David O’Connor will be on the scene for several days, auditors welcome! Keep up to date with the happenings via the USEF High Performance FB Page. [Training Sessions in Cali]

Best of COTH: Leslie Chelstrom Loves a Challenge

Hot on HN: 14 Humiliating Fly Masks

 

“How To Train Your OTTB: Part 3”

 

Summer Fire Safety Tips For Your Barn

By on Jul 10, 2013 3:00 pm -

 

Unfortunately, one of the most common news headlines that I read every night in my equestrian news feed is one that reports a tragic barn fire that claimed the lives of several horses, and destroyed the stable. Can you imagine not only losing your beloved horses to a fire, but also every single little bit of horse paraphernalia that you own, including tack, hay, sentimental items and the barn itself? This kind of disaster haunts me on a regular basis, and every time I see a new report of a stable going up in flames, my heart goes out to the owners. No one should ever have to deal with that kind of tragedy.

Let’s face it: barns are one of the most flammable buildings possible. Not only are the usually made largely of wood, but they are also stuffed full of the best tinder available: hay. Plus, we all know (usually from personal experience) that if there is the smallest chance that something seemingly innocuous could become a hazard, you can be guaranteed that your horse will find that object and injure themselves with it. This means you have to examine every item in your barn to determine if it could, in fact, become a hazard. Walk through your barn and study every day objects, and think, “What if…?”

While these are certainly not all of the steps you can take towards fire safety, here are few to get you started thinking about how you can better prepare your barn.

 

Step one towards good fire safety is simply this: be tidy. A broom can be your best friend when you’re thinking of daily precautions for fire hazards. Even something as small as a piece of glass resting on a dusty window ledge can be hit by some weird sunlight and cause a fire. Dust those windowsills! You should also keep your aisle ways tidy and unobstructed, and sweep up loose hay, straw and wood shavings. Trash should go in a metal trash can with a snug lid. Get rid of cobwebs, which I realize is probably the last thing you want to hear. However, cobwebs are really good pathways for flames to travel along and spread throughout your barn. Flaming cobwebs also fall onto the floor and bedding, starting new fires.

This one might seem obvious…but NO SMOKING. Seriously, it’s just about the dumbest thing you could do (and I’m not even talking about your health here). Don’t smoke near the barn, and certainly don’t allow other people to do it either. My favorite sign to have is “No Smoking….unless you’re on fire”.

Make sure you have your electricity running through a metal conduit! So many barns do not have all their electrical running through metal conduit. This is an absolute must in a wood barn. Rodents chew wires to file their teeth down… and that doesn’t go so well for the fire safety! Ground fault interrupter (GFI) outlets are beneficial for this as well.

Make sure veryone knows how to use the fire extinguisher and where they are located in the barn. This is key, because most people actually never have used a fire extinguisher before, and during the fire is not the time to read the instructions on the side. Make sure you know what you’re doing.

Be very careful with vehicles such as gators, motorbikes, or four-wheelers stored near the barn. Especially us Eventers, we’ve always got our motorbikes stored right there in the barn, and usually a small tank of gas for filling it up nearby. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard stories of somebody dragging their ring with the four wheeler, putting it up in the barn, and walking home, only to discover that the motor was a lot hotter than they thought, and it started a fire in the barn. Seriously, be careful with motorized vehicles, and put that gas can somewhere else.

If you’re building a barn from the bottom up, consider using flame retardant materials. Cinder block with metal roof,  trusses and rafters is more or less fire proof. Most cinderblock barns use wood trusses & rafters with tin sheeting on top. The wood is still very flammable!  MDBarnmaster barns are also basically fire proof, and an excellent investment. You can also use fire retardant paint on other surfaces to help prevent the spread of flames. Make sure that each stall has a door to the outside that you can easily access if the inner aisle becomes engulfed in flames. Keep tabs on all your electrical wiring up to date and neat, don’t have excess wires hanging about!

Even though it is convenient, consider building a seperate barn for hay storage.  Storing hay above your horses is a huge risk. Most horses die of smoke inhalation before flames in a fire, and there is no better way to completely fill a barn with smoke than with some nice flammable hay falling from the ceiling. Even a fire-proof building that has a lot of burning hay inside will kill the horses with smoke.

I hope these tips get you all thinking about ways to improve the fire safety at your own barn. What steps do you take that I forgot to include? Let me know, Eventing Nation!

 

 

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Barbury 2013

By on Jul 10, 2013 1:00 pm -

Barbury International Horse Trials was a sunny weekend of serious competitors, and once again dominated by World #1 Andrew Nicholson & last year’s winner Avebury. However, they were not the only winners! With Piggy French winning the other section of CIC3*, there were also three divisions of CIC2*, and six divisions of preliminary! Barbury HT Facebook Page did an amazing job of documenting the happenings, with updates, photos and now video from the weekend. Check out some snips of action through all three phases and all divisions from this past weekend.

(Protip: check out around 2 minutes for the best save of the day!!)

 

 

Lynne Larsen: British Columbia Developing Young Riders Camp

By on Jul 10, 2013 11:00 am -

Lynne Larsen, coach of the British Columbia Developing Young Riders, sent in a great write-up and photos from the program’s fourth annual camp. Five years ago, the British Columbia Young Riders Committee decided to expand their program to include a Developing Riders Program to help riders develop their skills at the beginner novice, novice and training levels. Take it away, Lynne!

Rebecca Howard teaches at the British Columbia Developing Young Riders Camp.

From Lynne:

Riders from British Columbia (waaaay out here in the northwest of the continent) have always been a force to be reckoned with … both past and present. Many of you will know Chelan Kozak, Nick Holmes-Smith, David Wilding-Davies, Joni Peters, Therese Washtock, Karen Brain and Ian Roberts to name a few from the past. In more recent years, Rebecca Howard, Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch and Hawley Bennett-Awad all represented British Columbia at NAJYRC and have gone onto represent Canada on the world stage.

Five years ago, it was decided by our Young Riders Committee to expand our YR program to include a Developing Riders portion with the intent of having a strong focus on improving delivery of skill sets to riders in the lower levels — beginner novice, novice and training — to prepare them to the NAJYRC level.

The annual YR program includes:

• A section at the Horse Trials BC Spring Clinics, which involves upwards of 100 riders and multiple coaches. This year the section featured Matt Ryan and Wendy Wergeles. In past years, Dorothy Crowell, Jessica Phoenix, Mike Winter and Kyle Carter have all paid visits. These clinics are held at one of our biggest event facilities, usually amid snow/sleet/hail/wind and sun over Easter weekend.

• Cross-country course walks at all the BC events for the Young Riders, facilitated by myself and other coaches that help out with the program.

• Participation in “Destination Shows” like Rebecca Farms in Kalispell, Mont., where the riders get to compete at one of the best venues on the continent and watch the highest level of their sport. They also develop a sense of competing as a team for the first time.

• Regional Fall Clinics to get riders started on their “homework” for the winter.

• And, of course, CAMP!

Last year we were very lucky to have Hawley Bennett-Awad healthy enough after London to come and coach for us, and this year we were extremely fortunate again in the timing of camp to have our own Rebecca Howard back to the province directly from England and her successes there. It is a HUGE inspiration to the Young Riders to have graduates of our program come back to work with them, particularly after representing their country. Following WEG 2010, we had Steph Rhodes-Bosch come and share her experiences with our Young Riders as well. Dana Cooke, Merritt native and groom to Rebecca Howard in London, has also been our guest at camp.

This year our camp was held over the July 1 weekend (Canada Day up here!) at our facility The Dot Ranch in Merritt, about four hours north of Vancouver in the southern interior of British Columbia, deep in cowboy country! We had 55 riders attending with a total of 58 horses, four coaches, and many parents and siblings as well. All brought their own accommodation, and horses were housed in a variety of outside pens and paddocks, while a few were lucky enough to be stabled under a roof. Summer chose to arrive that weekend with temperatures moving up each day, ending up at 41°C  (105°F) on the last day — hot to say the least. Creating/manipulating a schedule to work for four coaches and all those riders will leave me with nightmares for weeks to come, but somehow it all worked out just great!

Camp kicked off on arrival day with a horsemanship groundwork demonstration by Stefanie Travers of Lodestar Horsemanship, with many of the campers having private sessions with Stefanie over the three days of camp. This proved to be a popular addition to camp, and many riders were glad of the help they received in achieving more respect from their horse on the ground. Lectures were also held throughout the three days, with topics such as “Fitness and Management of the Event Horse”; “Planning a Training Schedule/Calendar”; Building Blocks for Success in the Competition Season”; “Leg Care for the Equine Athlete”; and “Be Strong — Ride Strong,” a session on core strength facilitated by Fitness Leadership Candidate Blaire Owen.

Day 1 was spent working on dressage skills in semi-private lessons with Rebecca, myself and coaches Maeve Drew and Brandy Saunders. Correct achievement of connection from behind, with a horse going forward from the leg and accepting of the contact, was a constant theme amongst all the coaches.

Day 2 saw many of the riders having two lessons that day, some show jumping and also going for a steeplechase school, and other groups working in the cross country field. Adhering to the basic principles of the flatwork whilst working over the fences was the focus of the day, and all riders had successful rides and coaches were happy with the progress made.

Day 3 saw Rebecca move her groups into the cross-country field while the rest of the groups show jumped or steeplechase schooled, and camp ended with a happy group of campers eager to move on to their next show to test their skills. I know a highlight for a lot of the riders was Rebecca’s evening presentation “The Road to Badminton,” which enabled the riders to hear Rebec’s story from her Salmon Arm Pony Club days here in BC to representing her country at WEG in 2010 and on to Pan Ams, London and then Badminton this spring. Talent is great thing to possess, but grit, a great work ethic, huge desire to keep learning from the best and a constant focus on the goal is something they all took away as all important in the pursuit of excellence.

Many thanks again to Rebecca for taking time to come home to Canada to work within our program (she also came home for her Mom’s birthday!). The inspiration she has provided to our up-and-coming eventers is priceless. And congrats must go to Rebecca and Riddle Master on their third place finish at Barbury Castle CIC*** this past weekend! Go Rebecca, and go eventing!

 

The Leo Chronicles: When The Going Gets Dull

By on Jul 10, 2013 9:00 am -

Lovely faces all around

There comes a point in almost every horse’s training where you have to simply wait for time to help you accomplish something. Whether you are waiting for your horse to have the strength to properly carry himself in the canter, waiting for it to stop raining every time you try to ride, or waiting for that big old cut to heal on his leg, the waiting game is part of life. It can be frustrating to feel like you and your horse are stagnating in the same old rut, but it is important to keep your head up and remind yourself that this time, just like all others, is only temporary. As they say, progress is slow, but I’m in it for the long haul!

This is where I am right now with Leo. He’s being generally good. He is starting to explore new geographical areas around my farm without a buddy, he’s working hard on being attentive on the flat, and he plays with jumps once a week. He’s improving in his weight, and he’s starting to be a lot more trustworthy on a daily basis. I feel that I know his warning signs for humping up his back enough now that I can somewhat prepare should some naughtiness come my way.

However, he still has so little strength and fitness that our daily activities are pretty limited before he is exhausted. Twenty to thirty minutes is all it takes, so our progress is pretty darn slow. I’m basically waiting for him to beef up so that he can physically accomplish some of the things I’m working towards. He was well behaved in the arena at his first show, so I don’t feel the need to take him and school him a million times this summer for that, or spend all my money in that aspect.

So while I work on the hills for the foreseeable future, I’ve made myself come up with lists of miniature goals to accomplish along the way. Having goals, even if they are teeny tiny, keeps you on track during the dull times of training. I have no set event debut in mind, but moreover a general level of strength and competency in a few tasks.

I want to work my way up to a 10 minute trot set. On the hills. I want him to walk down the road confidently without curling his neck and fiddling nervously with his bit. I want him to learn to accept a consistent contact with the bit. I want to find the best possible bit for him….this is a continuing quest. I would like him to be able to pick up the canter without running into it from the trot. I want him to embrace the stretchy trot. I would really like it if he stopped kicking out when I put hind boots on him. Ground tying is a work in progress (a necessity for those who forget things in the tack room every day). I want his balance to improve going down hills, as right now it feels like riding a bowl of jelly down a slide. Cantering jumps would be nice, but I suppose cantering on the flat in a semi-organized manner has to precede that. I want him to cross rivers like he’s done it all his life, and then take that to the cross country field.

While these all seem like fairly dull, minuscule things to achieve, think about in a month or so, when I have most of those accomplished! I’ll have a horse that is completely different than the one I have now, and then I can write myself a whole new list of goals, including a real life competition hopefully! We might be absent from EN for a while due to the nature of the waiting game, but when we do, I hope to bring you a whole new horse!

(click the play button below to enjoy “Leo’s Big Adventure”)

Wednesday News and Notes from MDBarnmaster

By on Jul 9, 2013 11:59 pm -

Tik making sure Sinead doesn't get too sick of hospital food, photo via Sinead's Twitter

As we reported on Sunday, Sinead Halpin suffered a fall this weekend at Chattahoochee Hills, breaking several ribs and her shoulder blade. Yesterday she reported on Twitter that she is still in the ICU but is hoping to be moved to a normal room soon. Everyone at EN is sending healing thoughts her way for a speedy recovery! [Sinead’s Twitter]

Weekend preview:

The Maryland H.T. at Loch Moy Farm II [Website] [Entry Status]

Champagne Run at the Park [Website] [Entry Status/Times]

Coconino Summer I [Website] [Entry Status/Times]

Chattahoochee Hills H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]

Roebke’s Run H.T [Website] [Times]

University of New Hampshire HT [Website] [Entry Status/Times]

Riga Meadow H.T. [Website]

Any Florida riders looking to do a hunter/jumper show this weekend? Ocala Horse Properties is sponsoring Horse Shows Under The Oaks At Longwood Farm in Ocala. [Entries] [Longwood Equestrian Games]

British superstar Laura Collett remains in a medically-induced coma following a rotational fall that occurred on cross country at Tweseldown. According to her website, she woke up briefly yesterday and responded well, but was put back under anesthesia to allow damage to her lungs to heal for another 24 hours. [Collett Eventing]

Big congrats to the young riders selected for the 2013 Eventing 18/ Advancing Athletes training list. 10 riders from around the country have been chosen to participate in this new initiative that aims to build a foundation for future success of high performance riders. The riders were selected by their “talent, competitiveness, commitment, potential, willingness to learn, quality of application and recommendation.” [USEA]

The Australian contingent put down a great performance at Barbury last weekend. Lucinda Fredericks took second place in one of the CIC2* divisions aboard The Navigator, and Chris Burton and Graf Liberty finished in fifth in the same class. In another CIC2* division, Burton finished fourth with Tempranillo, directly followed by fifth-placed Paul Tapner and Yogi Bear. [Weekly Times Now]

This week on the Eventing Radio Show: Catching up with Brits abroad.  Jess and Samantha catch up with Tiana Coudray. [Eventing Radio Show]

Zara Phillips plans to keep riding and competing while pregnant.According to UPI.com, Zara is planning to compete next month at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park and has three events planned for July. [UPI.com]

Best of (HN) Blogs: Check out Amelia Bayer’s new series for HN about her life as a working student for Sinead Halpin Eventing.

Mandiba was back in action last weekend at the Maryland HT at Loch Moy Farm with Alexa Perkiel, who is getting ready to represent the US at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel. Check out the video of their XC round, courtesy of Video By Patrick.

Huntington Farm HT Photos from FlatlandsFoto.com

By on Jul 9, 2013 5:10 pm -

Joan Davis of FlatlandsFoto.com has been hard at work bringing wonderful photographs to competitors each weekend.  This time, she has shared some win photos from Huntington Farm HT in South Strafford, Vermont.  Lila Gendal wrote about the challenges facing Huntington this morning, and how the tireless organizers worked hard to get the competition running despite weather setbacks.  Many thanks to Joan as always for the lovely photos!  See more pics from the weekend (and previous events) at her gallery: www.flatlandsfoto.com.

 

Winners of the Open Novice A division were Paige Skipper and Irish Sea. Copyright FlatlandsFoto.com.

 

Winners of the JYOP division were Madison Gallien and Beau Voyageur. Copyright FlatlandsFoto.com.

 

Winners of the Jr Beginner Novice division were Jasmine Jencks and Festive Way. Copyright FlatlandsFoto.

 

Winners of the Open Training division were Kimmy Cecere and Scarlett OHara. Copyright Flatlandsfoto.com.

Eventing 18/Advancing Athletes Riders Announced

By on Jul 9, 2013 3:48 pm -

Caroline Martin and Quantum Solace at The Fork.

The USEA just announced the names of the 10 riders selected for the Eventing 18/Advancing Athletes program. A USEA and USEF partnership program, Eventing 18/Advancing Athletes seeks to cultivate riders for future High Performance teams. David O’Connor will oversee the program and teach the first training session in November. Interested riders applied in March and were chosen based on their talent, competitiveness, commitment, potential, willingness to learn, quality of application and recommendation.

From the USEA:

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) are pleased to announce the riders selected for the Eventing 18 / Advancing Athletes program. A total of 10 riders have been chosen from around the country to participate in the new initiative designed to build a foundation of future athletes destined for high performance teams.

The selected riders are:
Brynn Littlehale – Saratoga, CA
David Pawlak – Boyce, VA
Patience (Viola) O’Neal – Spokane, WA
Adrian Jones – Schamong, NJ
Rowdie Adams – Greenville, TX
Madison Temkin – Sonoma, CA
Mia Farley – San Clemente, CA
Jamie Doolittle – Reddick, FL
Caroline Martin – Miami Beach, FL
Savannah Fulton – Finksburg, MD

Riders were selected based on their talent, competitiveness, commitment, potential, willingness to learn, quality of application and recommendation. U.S. Team Coach David O’Connor will oversee the program and teach the first training session, which will be held in late November 2013.

In March, interested riders were invited to apply to the Eventing 18 / Advancing Athletes program through their USEA Area Young Rider Coordinator.  Riders are eligible through the year in which they turn 18, and must be US citizens and an active member of their Area Young Rider Program, the USEA, and the USEF. Applicants should have at least one national qualifying result (NQR) at the Preliminary level on the horse with which they are applying, and a letter of recommendation from an ICP certified instructor must be submitted with their application. Riders, who do not apply or for whatever reason do not meet the criteria, may be ‘talent spotted’ into the program by the USEF Talent Spotters, who also serve as the Selection Committee.

THE WINNER: Third Annual Blogger Contest

By on Jul 9, 2013 3:00 pm -

*Actual prize may differ.

After many hours of meticulous deliberation, at the end of a valiantly, closely fought competition, we’re excited to announce that the winner of our Third Annual EN Blogger Contest is…

Erin Critz!

Erin’s final entry had us laughing out loud. We’re not sure what we liked more — her proposed Beginner Novice Cavalry Maneuvers dressage test complete with battle cry or the “Russian Federation” YouTube video she posted that demonstrated the test movements. If you haven’t watched this video already, you have to.

Fans of Rick, Sally and Ella: Don’t despair. All four finalists were such strong contenders that we’ve asked all of them to join the EN team as writers. They’re already hard at work formulating ideas for a new weekly series, and you can expect to see their work on EN very soon.

Thanks again to all who entered the Third Annual Blogger Contest, read and commented on entries, or voted in our final poll. Your enthusiasm has been both awesome and inspiring. Until next year!