Classic Eventing Nation

The final round Blogger Contest entries are in, and we’re offering you the opportunity to weigh in on each article before we declare a victor. We’ll post two of the entries today and the final two entries tomorrow, and a poll will go up on Thursday so you can vote for your favorite blogger.

Their Final Round Assignment: Much in the spirit of EN’s annual April Fool’s posts (see 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), your final round assignment is to brainstorm an original idea for a fake news story and then write it up as a post for EN, complete with some sort of visual imagery you create (photo, video, diagram, drawing, etc.). We stress that access to expensive camera equipment is unnecessary; see Wylie’s FEI pictograms for proof that imagination, at least in the context of this assignment, will be your most invaluable asset. Words and visuals will be judged 50/50 on the same basis as previous entries (Interesting, Funny, Informative, Creative).

Here’s Rick Wallace’s final installment (for Rick’s previous entries, see Round 1, Round 2). Thanks for reading, Eventing Nation. Stay tuned for entries from Erin Critz, Sally Spickard and Ella Rak. Please leave feedback in the comments section.

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Bio: Rick Wallace is an upper level event rider  — AGAIN. After years in hibernation. Father of awesome upper level event rider Elisa Wallace and also known as Mustang Girl. Have string of super talented horses: Ultimate Victory – 3 Star horse, Ultimate Decision – Amazing new horse which is dominating in dressage and Ultimate Timing – my dressage horse now being converted to eventing.

Entry: 

Leap of Faith and Miracle Man

Vets Baffled over what is being called: The Miraculous Conception!!

Elisa Wallace had been trying for couple of years to breed her retired Advance mare, Leap of Faith. Elisa had purchased a stallion related to Rick Wallace’s 1990’s Advanced horse, Ultimate Trial, and she was excited about how the combination would work.

As time when by, it became apparent that the 17-year-old mare was going to be difficult to breed, and after several attempts by live coverage, Elisa had her ultra-sounded to discover no foal. It was October, and so she decided to have Leap of Faith, AKA Mia, flushed (scraping of the uterine wall) and treated so that she might attempt breeding in the following year.

As things go, Elisa was so busy the following spring she did not attempt to breed Mia. Elisa had taken her to a farm down the road and turned her out with other broodmares and would check on her periodically. Spring came and went, and Elisa missed spring breeding and decided to attempt breeding again in the late summer.

What happened next was shocking. Elisa went to the farm in August where Mia was turned out to check her before heading to an event. As she was walking up toward Mia, she saw what she thought was a baby deer. Mia was standing stoically by and as she got closer, Elisa almost fell to the ground. It was a foal! A beautiful bay colt with a huge white star was lying at the feet of Mia.

How did this happen? Mia had been checked and flushed in November of the earlier year. No pregnancy confirmation. Yet right in front of Elisa was a colt that no doubt was Mia’s. Elisa ran back to her farm, grabbed the truck and trailer and brought the pair home. What happened next was hair rising! In an attempt to make heads or tales of this baffling mystery, Elisa called her vet who came and checked the mare and foal out. Both were normal and healthy. Then they began piecing together “HOW”!

Calculations where done, and the last time the mare was bred was July the year before. She had been ultra-sounded, flushed and confirmed NOT Pregnant. The vet scratched his head and no amount of explanation could provide answers. Elisa decided to ship Mia and the colt to Auburn and once there, extensive testing was done.

DNA was pulled from the stallion and even another horse that was a cryptorchid. Even so, the calculations of time would not align with the August birth. What happened next in the testing phase was unexplainable. Elisa was called into the Auburn vet clinic office and had a large number of vets in her presence. They then announced the findings of the DNA test. They matched exactly to Mia. No deviation. No introduction of other DNA to that of the colt. He was an exact duplicate, a clone. But he was a colt. How and what was all Elisa could manage.

The vets called it the Miraculous Conception. Elisa called it the Immaculate Conception. Needless to say, the little colt, Miracle Man, is the talk of the town and Elisa can only believe he was sent for some divine reason.  We shall all witness the coming years, and I am sure Elisa will hold on to this little guy. The future will tell us why he is here, and perhaps that will be the real story. Learn more about Miracle Man at www.teamwallace.org. It is truly a story worth following.

EN isn’t just your leading source for eventing news, results and commentary; it’s a community where fans of this crazy sport come together to share their war stories. We love hearing from readers and, in turn, sharing your thoughts with the world. All reader submissions are eligible for the Omega Alpha Reader Submission of the Month in which they are published. All winners will receive an Omega Alpha supplement of their choosing. Have something to share with EN? Send it to us at [email protected]!

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Ashley Russell and Golly Tabatabaie

We’re pleased to announce that Ashley Russell and Golly Tabatabaie’s reader submission, BABS Eventing Goes to the Maryland Adult Eventing Camp, is the Omega Alpha Reader Submission of the Month for June. Ashley and Golly thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience and completed their first beginner novice event successfully thanks to the camp.

“All of the skills the BABS girls learned during camp translated beautifully to the show, and the team finished their first Beginner Novice event successfully. Many of the instructors were on hand for coaching and emotional support throughout the day. Ashley and Nic had a clear, confident stadium round, with no signs of Nic’s past anxieties, and Golly and Vinnie showed off their new found rhythm on the cross-country course. All of the campers had a great time cheering each other on throughout the competition, and the sense of camaraderie at the stable was obviously sky high.”

Ashley and Golly will receive a free supply of an Omega Alpha supplement of their choice for sharing their story. Want to win an Omega Alpha supplement? Send in your story, clinic report, video or other article to [email protected]. If it’s published this month, it will be eligible for July’s giveaway. *Month to be determined by date of publishing, not date of submission. Many thanks to Ashley and Golly for writing and to Omega Alpha for supporting Eventing Nation. Go eventing!

Here are some other reader submissions we loved from this month:

Best Event Report: GMHA Horse Trials with Photos from Flatlands Foto by Katie Murphy

Katie Murphy wrote an excellent event report on the GMHA Horse Trials to accompany the beautiful photos by Flatlands Foto we received from the event. “I have had to retrain myself as a competitor, shifting my objectives to show Garth to the best of his ability – not just in the present, but what he may be capable of years in the future. In the dressage, our gaits are bigger and bolder then those in the horse trials. We take chances in these tests, and it is great fun! Mistakes are easily discovered when you take chances, and as we push the envelope at every movement, the necessity of balance and rhythm is never overlooked.”

Best Clinic Report: Denya’s Clayton Fredericks Clinic Report by Denya Massey

We chose Denya’s Clayton Fredericks Clinic Report from 2012 as one of our favorite clinic reports from the entire year, and she sent in an equally good report last month: “My favourite bit? “Slow down time.” Clayton suggested that elite athletes (hey, I’m not quite that, but I still think I can use this) can slow down time to prepare, adjust, plan, to avoid rushing, which leads to costly mistakes. It was ably demonstrated by a rider who jumped a line, had to make a full U turn to another line, and made a hash of it. When the idea of slowing down time to imagine what should happen was introduced, the rider repeated the exercise with an excellent result.”

Best Sneak Peak: Meeting the Area II Young Rider Grooms by Mikaela Kantorowski

Mikaela Kantorowski is back this summer to groom for the Area II NAJYRC team, and she sent in a great guest blog to introduce us to the test of the grooms. “All of the grooms have been chosen through the Area II program. All our riders and grooms will be attending camp and really bonding together as a team. These grooms also had to fundraise for their spot on the team, so good work guys! I’m privileged to be a part of this staff. You will see these girls running around behind the scenes making sure all those whites are sparkling and that the chestnuts gleam like shiny pennies!”

Bienvenue au Canada! I took my mare Valonia to Napierville this weekend, an event up in Canada. We left on a Friday and returned on a Sunday. I traveled with my two buddies, Susan Berrill and Daryl Kinney, and we certainly had an adventure that will never be forgotten.

I had absolutely zero expectations in every regard. I wasn’t sure how my mare was going to handle overnighting somewhere other than the comfort of her own field and stall. I wasn’t sure what the cross country course was going to be like. I heard that show jumping for every division was going to be three to four inches higher than a normal show jumping round in the U.S. I wasn’t sure about any of it. I was ecstatic about competing out of the country for the first time in my life, but other than that, I was an open book.

We arrived late Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, they had just been hit with a tremendous amount of rain that nearly washed the event away. They didn’t cancel the event, but rather they worked really hard to keep the cross country course from completely washing away. Everyone at the farm welcomed us with opened arms and made sure we were happy and had everything we needed, even though they needed about 25 dump truck loads more of hard pack. The hospitality at this event was extraordinary, and I felt very comfortable there.

We got our horses settled in their stalls and went out immediately to walk our courses. This is where my eyes got big and my imagination started running all over the place. From the stables to cross country, you walked about 10 minutes down an extremely long and straight narrow dirt road — perfect for a pre-hack to cross country warm up, although not great for an evening stroll because the mosquitoes might actually eat you alive!

We all started in the start box but veered off quickly because I was going training, Sue prelim and Daryl intermediate. The footing was extremely challenging in several locations, none of which was anyone’s fault at all — this was all Mother Nature, unfortunately. The footing at the base of each fence and right after were decent, but the rivers and water crossings were rushing like mad. There were several questions on my course that would have been difficult even in normal footing, but with the slippery grass and the muddy footing, this was certainly going to be a challenge. We all had the same reaction. These cross country courses were going to be tough — this was unanimous!

I have to mention the water jumps because they were truly something to see. The water jump was more of a large frog pond, which was totally fine and very cool looking, but the amount of water that filled the pond was almost comical in a weird way. I don’t think I saw one rider walk their line through the water complex because they would have been completely drenched up to their knees. When I saw this water jump two thoughts came to mind: 1) If I even make it this far that will be an accomplishment in itself, and 2) all the horses that DO jump into this pond — whether they are going BN or intermediate — they are true event horses, and that will impress me.  

Well, my buddy Daryl managed to not sink and swam her way through this course on the amazing intermediate Thoroughbred gelding Union Station (owned by Denny Emerson), aka “Onion.” The pair went clean and finished 2nd overall. My pal Sue and her tough cookie of a mare, Absoroka (by Aberjack), better known as “Phoebe,” also swam through their course and were the only ones that completed their prelim division.

I unfortunately ended up retiring less than half way around cross country for several reasons. I have to admit, I was very nervous about the footing and the difficulty of my course in general. So far, this was the hardest course that Valonia and I would tackle as a team. I sat on my tack trunk Saturday morning going over again and again in my head the pros and cons of doing this course. Pros: I came here to compete. I paid all this money and I want to go cross country. The footing is much better today than it was yesterday. I don’t want to give up. I have huge studs. Cons: I can’t afford to lose a shoe today for specific reasons. I don’t want to lose confidence. I really don’t want my horse to lose confidence. I don’t want to scare my horse.

I sat there thinking and trying to figure out whether or not I should jump. I talked to several people and knew it was ultimately up to me. I had about an hour before cross country and I started studding my horse. I tacked up and walked the long road out to mosquitoe-ville. The warm up was pretty bad in terms of footing (not that this was anyone’s fault), but I didn’t do very much in terms of warm up. Valonia jumped out of her skin over the warm up jumps and I felt pretty confident going into the start box. My plan was if things start going downhill, whether it be footing, or stopping or run outs … I would just retire.

The timer was so nice and told me to smile before I left the box … that’s the rule, he said! So, I smiled and looked up and let Valonia go. The first part of the course had decent footing. The first four jumps went really well. We got to a long gallop stretch in the woods and Valonia felt great. Then I got to number five, which was a big corner only a few strides off a turn with big white bags sitting on the wide part of the jump. Unfortunately, she ran out there. I regrouped and tried again. She jumped the second time. Shortly after I had a large roll top, two strides down a hill to a huge trakehner with a river flowing underneath. No surprise here — she ran out. I regrouped and she jumped it fabulously the second time. Now the footing started getting worse than I had thought. We jumped a few more jumps and then came out of a muddy turn, were supposed to jump a chevron, down a steep hill three strides to a huge ditch with a water gushing through, then up a steep hill, four strides to a brush. She stopped at the in and that’s when I knew we weren’t going to make it around, nor was I even going to try at this point. I retired.

We all learn something from every event we go to, whether we win, fall off, retire or come in dead last — we always learn something, don’t you think? I learned that I need to stay close to home for a little while and get my horse more comfortable just with competing. I wouldn’t have known this unless I did it. I didn’t need to spend that much money to go around a course or halfway around a course that was too challenging for my semi-green horse in less than ideal footing. It made total sense that Sue and Daryl would go to an event like Napierville, because both the riders and horses had serious competitions already under their belts, and I had very few. Overall Napierville was an amazing event put on by a really great group of hardworking and dedicated individuals. The organizer, the secretary, the volunteers, the competitors and the farm owners could not have been more welcoming and more gracious, and I would absolutely recommend this event to anyone who wanted to go tackle a fun and challenging course! (P.S. Sorry about no Napierville pictures. We all rode within 30 minutes of each other.)

My Virtual Eventing Coach">A real “rider-frightener” cross-country fence at the Event at Rebecca Farm, via My Virtual Eventing Coach

By all accounts, the Event at Rebecca Farm is something to behold. The ambiance is festive, the cross-country course is a work of art, the show jumping always counts, and the whole scene is pitched against a spectacular backdrop of Montana mountains.

Unfortunately, it’s also a pretty good haul for most riders. The Rebecca Broussard Travel Grant, awarded annually by the USEA Endowment Trust, makes the logistics a bit easier for a deserving few. Made possible through the generosity of the Broussard Family to honor the memory of Rebecca Broussard, the grant is intended to offset the cost of travel expenses of riders competing in the CIC3* division. To receive the aid the riders must compete at this year’s event, to be held July 24-28.

The following riders have been named as recipients of the 2013 Rebecca Broussard Travel Grant: Andrea Baxter, Avery Klunick, Barbara Crabo, Ellen Doughty, Emilee Libby, Frankie Thieriot, Geriann Henderson, Heather Morris, Jacob Fletcher, Jeanine Allred, Jennifer McFall, Jordan Linstedt, Katherine Groesbeck, Katie Ruppel, Kelly Pugh, Lauren Kieffer, Leslie Chelstrom, Lizzie Snow, Mackenna Shea, Pam Fisher, Rick Wallace, Susan Beebee, Teresa Harcourt and Zachery Brand.

Congratulations to all of the Grant’s recipients! [US Eventing]

Events Opening Today:

Erie Hunt and Saddle Club H.T. (Pennsylvania, A-8), Larkin Hill H.T. (New York, A-1), Full Gallop Farm August H.T. (South Carolina, A-3), Waredaca Farm H.T. (Maryland, A-2),  Huntington Farm H.T. (Vermont, A-1),  The Event at Santa Fe (New Mexico, A-10)

Events Closing Today:

Fitch’s Corner H.T. (New York, A-1), Olney Farm H.T. (Maryland, A-2), Cobblestone Farms H.T. (Michigan, A-8), Aspen Ridge H.T. (Colorado, A-9), Coconino Classic 3-Day Event & H.T. (Arizona, A-10)

News:

The FEI reopened the bidding process for the 2018 World Equestrian Games after Bromont, the sole bidder, failed to secure full financial support in time. Bromont resubmitted its bid, pledging to redouble its efforts. [EN] [COTH] [Dressage-News] [Horse Talk NZ]

Inspired by Michael Jung’s hairy moment on the Aachen CHIO3* 2013 cross-country course, from which he recovered to finish third individually, Horse & Hound takes a look back at other great eventing saves. [H&H] Meanwhile on Horse Talk NZ, photographer Paul Harding posts some striking images from cross-country day at the event.  [Horse Talk NZ] And British Eventing weighs in on its team’s second place finish. [BE]

Mid-South Eventing & Dressage Association has a new website, with an improved calendar feature and a place to post entry forms and show bills. [MSEDA]

Take a 15-minute survey about your experience while in the Lexington area for the 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event for a chance to win event passes for 2014! The survey is open through noon Thursday. [UK]

Four-star rider/all-around superstar Hannah Sue Burnett is available to teach clinics. Contact her at [email protected] for more info.

The Corvallis Gazette-Times was on the scene at Inavale Farm Horse Trials in Philomath, OR, over the weekend. [Gazette-Times]

SmartPak Product of the Day: One of my horse’s pasturemates has a SmartPak Classic Fly Mask embroidered with his name–ADORABLE! Way cuter than my horse’s, which has his name scrawled across the front in faded permanent marker and appears to have been assaulted by a cheese grater. A new one from SmartPak is definitely on our shopping list. [SmartPak]

Best of the Blogs: Do you know how to protect your horse from West Nile Virus? Our friends at Kentucky Performance Products share some preventative measures. [KPP]

Video: Speaking of the Event at Rebecca Farm, check out the 2013 promotional video.

Congratulations to Megan Grigsby from Citrus Heights, CA, who was chosen as this week’s Cavalor Premium Feed & Supplement’s Share & Win contest winner in the U.S.! You will be contacted by Cavalor shortly to redeem your 6 week supply of MyCavalor.com’s suggested feeding program! 

Want to win a 6 week supply of Cavalor Premium Feed & Supplements?

You are only a few clicks away! Fill in your horse’s details, click on “Design Feeding Program” and click the “Share” on Facebook button on the top right of your final personalized feeding program screen – That’s it!

CONTEST DETAILS

Cavalor will announce one lucky winner per week (every Tuesday) on the Cavalor North America Facebook page and the Cavalor corporate website: www.cavalor.com

One lucky winner per week for four weeks from June 11-July 9, 2013

Prizes: A six week supply of Cavalor Premium Feed & Supplements suggested in your personalized feeding program

Just over a month ago, Sara Kozumplik lost her promising upper level horse Flagmount’s Sterling Prince in a turnout accident.  She was recently faced with another tragedy, at the unexpected loss of her former Rolex partner, Somerset.  Our condolences go out to Sara and her team as they face the heartbreak of another great horse gone too soon.

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Sara Kozumplik and Somerset, photo by Shannon Brinkman

From Sara:

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.”

So soon after losing Prince, I don’t even know how to announce that I have lost my best friend, Somerset. After a 3 1/2 year absence, he made a joyful return to the sport just last weekend at Surefire Horse Trials. He was the happiest, and the healthiest I have ever known him. I then show jumped at a jumper show this week, came home on Friday, and Saturday morning he was found in his pasture. No signs of any stress or injury, it looked as if his heart had given out in the night.

Somer, or Bertie as he was known as a baby in England, was in his own way designed for eventing. He easily had the movement for top dressage, a gallop that made him canter in 3 seconds under the time at Rolex, and the heart which enabled him to take his enormous scope (but admittedly interesting technique) and learn that the poles must stay up when it counts!

Somerset never got a break. He injured himself in the award ceremony at Rolex in 2009. After successfully rehabbing from that, he somehow contracted a bone infection that was almost impossible to diagnose, as there was seemingly no entry point. Edy and Sean Rameika paid for Somerset to be in hospital and rehabilitation for 9 months, including a surgery and daily regional limb profusions. Talk about fairy God parents?

Somerset was a fighter. He always defied the odds. After almost dying from the bone infection, we were told that he would never be sound again. He was. Then that he would never jump again. He did. Finally that there was no way he could even think about eventing again. He sailed around the xc in the magical way he always did, and pulled up sound and happy.

I would like to once again thank my neighbor, Sandy Johnson, for always helping me in the worst times of my life, the people involved with Somerset the longest, Edy and Sean Rameika, Chris and Rob Desino, my parents, and finally Brian…..who always ends up picking up the pieces.

Somerset you were the horse love of my life. At the end of our journey together, as much as it hurts, I cannot help feeling blessed. Blessed that you were my partner. Blessed that you taught me so much about good cross country riding. Blessed that you showed me how to tough it out no matter the odds, and above all, blessed that you left me so peacefully and so happy that you were back in the sport you loved so much. God speed, Somerset…….sweet dreams.

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http://youtu.be/iwoTG5CFyq8

This is a special showcase of stallions sponsored by Chatsworth Stud. More images and information can be found at www.chatsworthstud.com. 

Michael and Nathalie Pollard are the owners and operators of Chatsworth Stud, the breeding sector of their eventing business, Pollard Eventing.  Michael’s goal is to help raise the level of breeding in the United States, in part by finding premium stallions to stand stud at Chatsworth.  This week’s featured stallion is Halimey.

Photo courtesy of WNCPhoto.com

This 8-year-old 16.1h, bay, premium-approved Trakehner half-blood stallion is a great choice for sport horse breeders looking to add athleticism, movement (balance in particular) while still have enough blood to run distances. In addition, Halimey has excellent rideability.

Halimey came to the Pollards, thanks to the Halimey Go, LLC Syndicate, in early 2013 and spent the winter months competing in Florida which included three wins out of four competitions in the 2013 season, never scoring above 26.5 in dressage.

Halimey was bred Germany and in 2007 he was approved in Neumünster as the best Anglo‐Trakehner colt, with a premium title. As a 5yr old, he immediately qualified for the Bundeschampionat of the German Event Horse. He proceeded into the finals, where he placed 10th overall. Again as a 6yr old, he qualified for the same event. In 2009, he was the Champion of his 70 day test in Marbach with top scores for both his dressage and jumping (including cross country) performances. Having recently won the Salgen CIC* in 2011, Halimey Go is a the perfect stud for a potential eventing prospect. An average of 30 percent of his foals have been classified as premium foals.

Halimey’s sire, Askar AA, competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and his mother, Hamamelis Go, is also the dam of the stallion Harlem Go and half-sister of Pb Go Hamlet.

Despina by Halimey. Photo courtesy of Jutta Bauernschmitt

Waldliebe by Halimey. Photo courtesy of Jutta Bauernschmitt

For more information on Halimey or the other stallions standing at Chatsworth Stud visit www.chatsworthstud.com. The Pollards are excited to watch these young foals develop into future talented North American Sport Horses.

Eventers Rebecca Brown and Alexa Perkiel are in the final stretch of preparing to represent Team USA in the Maccabiah Games (think Jewish Olympics) in Israel later this month. Rebecca is competing in dressage while Alexa is competing in show jumping. Many thanks to Rebecca and Alexa for writing! Go Maccabiah Games!

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Rebecca Brown in preparation for the Maccabiah Games. Photo by Harley Cozewith.

From Rebecca: 

We are quickly nearing our July 10 departure date for the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and Alexa Perkiel and myself have been training hard to represent the USA to the best of our abilities! Final numbers have come in, and there will be 8,500 athletes representing 40 countries during these Games. The U.S. is sending one of the largest contingents with 1,130 representatives. We depart on July 10th, tour Israel for six days, and then opening ceremonies take place on July 18. Alexa and I will be blogging throughout the competition, so make sure to check back here on Eventing Nation or on my personal website, RBriding.com.

Last week we received the rules and schedule for our competitions. They are abundant, so here are the highlights:

•  Our training days are strictly regulated. For instance, no more than six obstacles may be jumped in any of Alexa’s practice sessions. Meaning by the time the competition has started, Alexa will have jumped a maximum of 24 jumps. Now, the rules state that a double or a triple count as one jumping effort. Also, three attempts at jumping an obstacle count as one obstacle.

•  Your trainer is allowed to ride the horse, but that deducts from your time during the practice sessions.

•  Israeli equestrians get to ride their personal horses but are also responsible for providing foreign athletes with borrowed horses.

•  If your horse is hurt, you are allowed to ride a reserve horse; however, only for the daily prize and not to compete for the Championship.

•  We are required to use the horse’s usual tack — saddles and bits.

•  Everything is run under FEI rules.

The timetable for our training days:

For my preparation for my dressage competition, it’s been life as usual at Buckbranch Farm in Wilmer, Texas, riding many horses a day. To prepare for the numerous possibilities of what my borrowed horse could be like, I’m riding everything from 13.3-hand ponies to 15.3-hand CCI*** winners to 17-hand OTTB green beans. Seems like that should cover the realm of possibilities! I’m polishing up my dressage tests and making sure I don’t have too much bling.

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At High Acre Farm in The Plains, Va. Photo by Alexa Perkiel.

From Alexa:

I arrived a few weeks ago to The Plains, Va., to resume my training at Karen and David O’Connor’s barn at Ms. Mars’ beautiful High Acre Farm. There are a few horses here that I have been riding and caring for since David is busy with Team USA and Karen has been busy teaching and traveling to support Team USA.

I love being in the hard working and competitive atmosphere of an upper level event barn, which encompasses this entire farm. I feel lucky to have had some rides with David and also my good friend and Under 25 rider Lauren Kieffer.

One horse I must mention is Joan Goswell’s Mandiba. He has been a joy to ride and learn on. It is so generous of Joan to allow me to ride such a “been there, done that” type of horse. Mandiba has been a great horse to help me sharpen my skills for our competitions in Israel. Riding different types of horses is always a bit of a challenge, but so helpful in the long run.

It was nice to have the opportunity to watch some lessons of Aachen U.S. team member Will Faudree while he was here prepping for his competition overseas. This farm has raised and assisted a lot of great riders that our country has, and I am grateful to be a part of it. I hope to use what I have learned in my short time here before the Maccabiah Games to help our team perform to the best of our ability in Israel next month. It is going to be an amazing journey. Rebecca and I, and the rest of Team USA, are ready to embark on this adventure! Go USA at the Maccabiah Games!

After a strange and anti-climactic weekend abroad for the US, it’s nice to get back to our roots and see what was happening in the Eventing world here on US soil. This weekend included Groton House, an event in Massachusetts that’s been around forever and is one of the top events in the north east. Ashley Adams was one of the many competitors, with her string of wonderful young horses. She competed in the Preliminary with Da Vinci Code, and jumped a beautiful clean round to cap off a great weekend.

The Horse Pesterer filmed tons of rides throughout the weekend, so be sure to check out his page for more videos of other riders from the event! [Horse Pesterer YouTube Channel]

We received a tip that Brian O’Connor stepped out from behind the mic this past weekend to compete in Sharon White’s JUMP Derbycross.  Might we see him try for the team at Normandy 2014??  Thanks as always to Brian for writing, and thank you for reading.

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Brian O'Connor at Sharon White's JUMP Derbycross. Photo sent to us by a loyal EN reader. Thanks Mike!

From Brian:

ICE AGE EVENTER RETURNS AFTER 35 YEARS!

Yes, it is true … Brian O’Connor has returned and the Speakeasy Event Team (SPET) is looking for sponsorship for the upcoming year of trying to impress the U.S. Olympic coach. These photos were taken at the Derbycross competition at Sharon White’s Last Frontier Farm. We all were competing under “CODE ORANGE” for the day, as you can see by the photos that even family members joined in the fun.

Over 150 riders came out to help Sharon with her JUMP ACROSS THE POND day, helping to raise funds for her to possibly go to Blenheim and Boekelo this fall. So it came down to whether or not I was going to participate. Thanks to Alice Sudduth and her wonderful horse, Charlie, I got to go around the Novice course. It made my whole year and I am so glad I did it.

I got on, jumped three warm up fences, and hooked up the Point 2 (a sponsor of Sharon’s) and off I went. I hope we can get the video out to you as the still photos did me proud. Charlie had been an outrider mount for the morning so he was warmed up (a bit tired too, to my benefit) and he carried my … no, me … around with great style.

A couple of chip-ins, yes, but a few nice jumps too; getting the distance back was my greatest fear!  But, I did not fall off, and I think the pics show a good thing or two. Hope you enjoy these, and I hope you all chime in either through EN or Facebook … go EN! I am back!!

P.S.  Any other announcers who THINK they got it … come on down for the throw down this fall at an event to be determined …

Brian

Brian and Charlie, photo by Sara Lieser.

Brian O'Connor with his mother, Sally, and son Ian, photo by Sara Lieser.