Classic Eventing Nation

Will Coleman and Larcot Z Conquer CCI3*-S + More From Stable View

By on Apr 9, 2023 9:10 am -

Will Coleman and Larcot Z. Photo by Shelby Allen.

A year ago, eventer Reagan LaFleur started her career in law, and because of her new professional time constraints, decided to hand the reins of her own Larcot Z over to Will Coleman. Now one season later, Will and the 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding (L’arc de Triomphe — Kocote de la Londe) have cashed in on their partnership, claiming a win in the Stable View CCI3*-S.

Reagan produced “Dwight,” aptly named after the character from The Office for the natural middle part of his forelock, through the two-star level. “I bumped him up did his first intermediates last year,” Will said. “He’s a really attractive horse — beautiful type, like a real blood type and a great jumper.”

He earned a 30.5 on the flat, with a score of nine for his final halt. A fault-free show jumping and just 8 cross country time penalties gave the pair a winning result of 38.5. Will was especially proud of the up-and-coming horse considering the deluge of rainfall he faced in addition to Mogie Bearden-Muller’s cross country track.

“It was just raining so hard. I could barely see I felt like I needed windshield wipers for my eyeballs,” Will said. “I think he was backed off by the ground. The ground held up really nicely, but it was still soft and kind of squishy. It just made the jumps maybe feel a little bigger, and he’s quite a careful horse so it was a good experience for him. He was really honest everywhere. I really can’t fault him.”

The LaFleur family have given their blessing for Will to continue campaigning Dwight for now, and he says he’ll aim for a spring three-star long, but hasn’t narrowed down yet exactly which one he’ll chose.

Doug Payne and Quiberon. Photo by Shelby Allen.

With 23 starters, only two came through the finish inside the time: Doug Payne and Waylon Roberts, who finished second and third place, respectively.

Doug piloted his and his wife’s 8-year-old Oldenburg stallion (Quite Easy — Avalon) to a second place finish on a score of 43.5. Only one rail in yesterday’s show jumping was added to their final result. A promising member of Doug’s string, Quiberon was bred in the U.S. by Didi Callahan.

Waylon Roberts and OKE Ruby R. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Canadian rider Waylon Roberts finished third with OKE Ruby R, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Namelus R — B. Termie R 6) owned by John Koppin, Michelle Koppin and Waylon, on a final score of 46.

North Carolina-based Ariel Grald picked up two wins in both the Advanced and the CCI2*-S.

Ariel Grald and Leamore Master Plan. Photo by Shelby Allen.

It was her World Championships partner Leamore Master Plan who took top honors in the Advanced after braving nearly the worst of the weather across both jumping phases. Annie Eldridge’s 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Master Imp — Ardragh Bash) has had a quieter spring following their 11th place finish at Pratoni, only so far running a combined test in the Carolina International four-star, but this weekend he stretched his legs for the first time adding 6.8 time penalties to their final score of 37.5.

Buck Davidson and Erroll Gobey. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Buck Davison was second with Erroll Gobey, who will be the pathfinder at the upcoming Kentucky CCI5* on a score of 44.

Australian transplant riding under the New Zealand flag, Hayley Frielick was third with her Dunedin Black Watch. They cruised to add 20 time penalties which included adding the third four-star corner which was not flagged for the Advanced course as an extra bonus fence.

Ariel Grald and In Vogue. Photo by Liz Crawley Photography.

In the CCI2*-S, Ariel’s partner In Vogue topped the leaderboard. Top Run Equestrian’s 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Future Trend — Ballymolloy Holly Hock) finished on her dressage score of 24.8.

“She’s owned by one of my best friends Claire Williams. We bought her during COVID as a 4-year-old from Ireland [off] videos. Bought the horse for Claire, and we’ve sort of shared the ride she you know, has a busy, real person job. So I take her for a little while and then Claire rides are a little bit, so she’s kind of bounced back and forth. But unfortunately Claire got hurt skiing this winter, so I’ve been riding her all winter,” Ariel said. “She’s just really, really cool. The more you do it, the more she steps up, and she’s actually getting quite hungry to go do the job. She’s just getting better and better.”

Lucia Strini. DHI Kevin G. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Lucia Strini took top honors in the Open Intermediate with DHI Kevin G, an 8-year-old KWPN (Dakar VDL — Varia) owned by Plain Dealing Farm, on a score of 37.7.

Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Course Preview] [EN’s Coverage]

 

Remembering Collection Pass: How Kate Met Cole

By on Apr 9, 2023 8:30 am -

Kate Chadderton (AUS) and Collection Pass. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Australian rider Kate Chadderton reported on social media Saturday that her longtime upper-level partner, Thoroughbred gelding Collection Pass, passed away at the age of 21. “Cole” was one of the first horses Kate partnered with in the U.S. upon arriving from Australia.

Kate posted the following on her Facebook page:

Sad to say Collection Pass has passed away. He was one of the kindest horses I’ve had the pleasure of training. Relatively small (15.3hh) he had the heart of a champion which carried thru seasons of advanced, Kentucky, a Nations Cups and even mini Prix show jumping. The only friend he didn’t make was friends with the dressage arena..! His jumping ability tho enabled us to win a bit thru to intermediate and gave us some 4 Star ribbons.

Cole was pretty well the first horse I started riding when I moved to America. Local huntsman, Robert Taylor, told me about a horse down the road who may or may not be broken in but might be worth looking at. So off I went to try him. He belonged to none other than Regis Dvorsky! Driving down Rege’s driveway it became very clear he had a beautiful farm! And a menagerie of well cared for and happy animals. What he DIDN’T have tho was a riding arena! Remembering at this point it was unclear whether or not this horse was broken in, so I was hoping to try in a somewhat confined area! Regardless we pressed on. The horse seemed very compliant so I thought I’d jump on and see what happened. Immediately it was clear that this horse was very well trained and really wanted to please his rider. Great! Now, Rege, what do you have to jump?! The answer was a dog crate! He jumped it the first time, which I saw as a great sign, so home Cole came with me. And the rest is history!

After his career with me, he went on to teach Grace Gaynor thru the 2 Star level with great success Rege was Cole’s biggest and most loyal supporter thru thick and thin, for which we are all grateful.

From Quebec to Wellington to California to Michigan and everywhere in between, it was a true honour to be partnered with an incredible athlete and soul.

Pretty sure he’ll be galloping (slooooowwwwwlllyyyy) around heaven with Sunny and Digger overseeing his safety!

In Cole’s honor, we thought it would be the best way to remember him by republishing this blog Kate graciously provided for us ahead of her then-CCI4* debut with the OTTB gelding. Thanks for the memories, Cole, and we’re sending our thoughts and well-wishes to Kate and her team.

The following article was originally published in April 2014.

Kate Chadderton and Collection Pass. Photo by Jenni Autry.

From Kate:

Rolex is fast approaching, and I thought I would share the story of how I came across my 2014 entry, Collection Pass. It was actually the brilliant idea of Robert Taylor of TaylorMade farm in Damascus, Md., that I go and see a horse down the road. I was fairly new to the U.S., and Robert was fairly unclear on the details of the horse: He was either a good prospect, had done some eventing, or some fox hunting or something. He had actually mentioned him to me several months earlier, but at that point the owner was not ready to part with him.

The horse sounded intriguing enough, so I waited for Robert to give me the OK to contact the owners. That call came late one Halloween afternoon; as I had plans for the evening, I almost did not go to see the horse. As with any professional rider, the lure of seeing a new horse always wins out. Robert had told me that I would have to take my own tack, as his owners (Rege Dvorsky and Jeanne Leone) were not riders and would not have anything I could use. So it was with very low expectations (and several apologetic messages to the social side of my evening) that I arrived to see this horse that “may or may not have evented.”

Happily, the horse I found was a nice type and seemed very well taken care of, so I chucked my saddle and bridle on and looked for a place to try him. When I asked Rege where the best place to ride was, he indicated toward some trails. It seemed like a good idea, so I pointed Cole’s nose down one and cantered. He seemed to do that alright, so I turned around and cantered back. He seemed to do that alright too! So we raided Rege’s garage for something to jump, and all I could find were pet carriers . So I set them up on the trail. Without batting an eyelid Cole jumped them both ways. Good nature, good type, good canter, I was sold!

Rege kindly agreed to my suggestion of a week’s trial to see how he was in an actual ring, which would also give me a chance to look up his record and get some history on him. During this week, I came to know Rege and Jeanne, and they made the decision to take him off the market and remain as the owners. Also during that week, I learned a lot more about Cole’s history. He had in fact evented. He was sourced by Kelley Williams of A Bit Better Farm in Maryland, who initially trained and evented him. She’s since told me he was very nearly sold as a hunter in Canada, but that fell through — thank goodness! Kelley then sold him to Rege for local event rider and owner of A Deck Above Farm, Kristin Parris.

As a race horse, he was not particularly successful, being given the sack after only six starts. When looking closely at his record it’s easy to see why. In five of the six starts, he was last. In his sixth start, he was second last, only beating home a horse that broke down halfway around.

Cole is your quintessential American Thoroughbred in that he’s very athletic, surefooted and, most importantly, comes to work every day giving his 110 percent effort. Where he differs from other Thoroughbreds, though, is his laid-back nature. On Sunday, he can run around an Advanced, and on Monday he can go trail riding with a 10-year-old kid (which he has done!). He doesn’t understand or think that he is particularly good; he is certainly not one of those bulletproof horses. For me this has taken some getting used to, as I have always ridden very bold and gregarious horses; Cole is certainly not gregarious! In the time I have known him now, I learnt that while he is honest and brave, I do have to hold his hand, and he generally will take the lead from me.

If he knew that he was an Advanced horse about to take on a four-star, he would probably go to the corner of his stall and cry, but I think the same would happen if we told him he was at training level and going to a training three-day! I strongly believe he thinks he’s still at Novice level, so we keep telling him he’s just going to a Novice championship. “Don’t worry, boy. The jumps won’t be any bigger than what your used to! There will just be more people watching!” If he were a guy, he would be a valuable player on the football team, but not the star, and he would always be up for a drink at the pub!

Liz Halliday-Sharp’s Hot Streak Continues with Stable View CCI4*-S Win

By on Apr 9, 2023 8:00 am -

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Liz Halliday-Sharp had a monster of a day at Stable View finishing three horses in the top six of the CCI4*-S class, but it was her Monster Partnership-owned Cooley Quicksilver who stole the spotlight — and the win — of the premier class.

“He’s very consistent,” said Liz of the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Womanizer – Kylemore Crystal, by Creggan Diamond) who has been a seasoned campaigner at the upper levels with Liz for several years. “Of course he knows his job and he enjoys it. He was fantastic. I actually had a different bit on him than I haven’t used before. I think he was good in that, and it is just kind of always trying to fine tune the ride on him.”

Overnight leaders after yesterday’s influential show jumping, Liz knew she would release the handbrake for “Monster” on today’s cross country, but it also took careful calculations of course designer Capt. Mark Phillips’ bold, forward lines — especially to the challenging angled line at 18abc where Liz and Monster both had to dig deep to make a gappy two stride — to ensure they met their marks.

“He’s a fighter. He likes being ridden with a bit of pressure — that has always suited his brain. I think he had a good time today,” she said. “Some of the distances were were pretty long, and he never lands far off the jump, so I definitely needed to commit to the distance. But he was a good boy, and he fought for me the whole way.”

Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Only one of the twenty-five starters beat the clock today: the U.S. World Championship entry Off The Record who was guns blazing for rider Will Coleman in his first International cross country run of the year.

“Timmy was amazing. He just honestly just skipped right around. He’s a little on the muscle — he missed the run at Carolina because it fell off, so he was really happy to be out here doing cross country today,” Will said.

Where some combinations had to fight the clock, the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (VDL Arkansas – Drumagoland Bay) galloped eagerly to meet the time constraints of six minutes fourteen seconds.

“I felt like the horse was smiling ear to ear the whole way around. Maybe a couple of times he was a little, almost over exuberant, but he was just class. I mean, he got the time and I was slowing down at the end. He just flew around,” he said.

Will Coleman finished nearly ten points ahead of the rest of the competition.

Doug Payne and Quantum Leap. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Twenty-fourth after dressage, Doug Payne and Quantum Leap had a lot of climbing to do for a top finish, but they seized the opportunity when it presented itself in this afternoon’s rainy conditions. A clear round with only 3.2 time penalties boosted Doug into a third-place result with the Kentucky-bound 12-year-old DSP gelding (Quite Capitol – Report to Sloopy, by Corporate Report).

“Unfortunately the score didn’t reflect it in the dressage, but that was the quietest, most settled he’s ever been, so that was extremely exciting for me,” Doug said of their first-phase result of 33.9. “His jumping has been quite good and reliable, so this was a fun one to go out on even with the conditions — this place, the wetter it is the better the ground,” he said.

Doug is practical about his spring preparatory competitions: he picks the events whose courses will best suit his horses, but as someone who has an ownership stake in most of his upper level rides, he also considers the venues that might be the most financially advantageous.

“I think the prize money is important too. I’ve got to commend Stable View because for these top [horses], in all honesty — they’re quite expensive, and we own a share of almost all these guys, so it helps to keep everything rolling when he have that support.”

Boyd Martin and Contessa. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Boyd Martin spent several educational seasons at the intermediate level with the 14-year-old Holsteiner (Contender – Veritas, by Esteban) Contessa where he ensured she had the basics and education required to be a competitive, top-level horse, and after a full season at the four-star level, the German-bred mare is really beginning to blossom into the complete event horse package as she heads into her five-star debut later this month. Today, she had a quick, efficient cross country round to move from tenth to fourth place on a score of 39.4.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Miks Master C. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Liz Halliday-Sharp’s newest ride, Miks Master C, an 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Mighty Magic – Qui Luma CBF, by Flyinge Quite Easy 958) owned by Debbie Palmer and Ocala Horse Properties, had a clear and intentionally slower round for fifth place on a score of 40.1.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z. Photo by Shelby Allen.

The third of Liz’s string here, Deniro Z, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding (Zapatero – Zonne-Trend, by French Buffet xx) owned by Ocala Horse Properties, was close behind on a result of 40.8. This was a final run for both horses ahead of Kentucky.

“I feel good about where they’re at. I sort of went out with a plan for them, and I feel like they accomplished it. They all ran well. They’ll finish feeling great. I think there were a lot of good questions here and plenty of terrain which was useful in the run up to the five-star,” she said.

Jennie Saville and Stella Artois. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Jennie Saville was the busiest rider in the division with four entries, and her longtime partner Stella Artois came out as the most competitive. The 15-year-old Hanoverian mare (Satisfaction FRH — Comtessa, by Contender) had 14 time penalties to finish seventh (41.4).

Jennie Saville and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Less than a point behind is Nina and Tim Gardners’ FE Lifestyle, who actually was quicker than stablemate “Toddy” with only 11 time penalties, to finish in eighth place.

Buck Davidson and Carlevo. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Dressage winner Buck Davidson ended the weekend in ninth place with Katherine O’Brien’s Carlevo, a 16-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Eurocommerce Caresino – Ramatuelle, by Levernois), on a score of 44.9 after 14.4 time penalties.

Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Boyd’s Tokyo and World Championship partner Tsetserleg, 16-year-old Trakehner gelding (Windfall II – Thabana, by Buddenbrock) owned by Christine, Thomas and Tommie Turner, finished in 10th place with 17.6 time penalties (46).

Out of twenty-five starters, only five ran into issues on course, though the clear rounds were heavily affected by time penalties which averaged out at 14.76 points per rider. Of the few jump penalties, only two fences were influential: 12c and 15c.

Woods Baughman and C’est la Vie 135. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Early in the going, second-placed Woods Baughman had a fly-by at 12c, a right-handed corner on a mound that was the latter element of a wide table to a double of corners. He represented, but C’est la Vie 135 said no a second time, and he decided to retire. Andrew McConnon also had a runout here with Ferrie’s Cello, though he was successful on his second presentation.

Caroline Martin was the first rider to discover issue at 15c, another right-handed corner off the bounce bank, but successfully cleared it on her second attempt with her new partner HSH Double Sixteen. Lillian Heard Wood and Dassett Olympus also earned 20 penalties here, as well as Tracey Bienemann who ultimately retired at this point in the track with four-star first-timer Reg The Ledge after two refusals.

With a busy and constantly shifting spring calendar, Stable View is, for many, a key preparation for the riders who are entered at the Kentucky CCI5*-L in three week’s time.

Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Course Preview] [EN’s Coverage]

 

 

 

Sunday Links from SmartPak

By on Apr 9, 2023 12:01 am -

~Turbo mode activated~

I recently learned that my mare has the cute little habit of doing a massive tail flick over every jump. I, of course, had no way of knowing this, as one cannot see their horse’s tail whilst jumping (unless you’re doing something terribly wrong). We started calling it her Power Boost, but are starting to think that, in an attempt to actually utilize her frequently-ignored bum muscles, maybe she’s just accidentally hitting the wrong ones (like accidentally turning on your windshield wipers when meaning to hit your turn blinkers). I think that’s definitely the case here with Jerry, at least — good job using your core muscles buddy, but maybe you don’t need to try that hard…

U.S. Weekend Action:

Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Course Preview] [EN’s Coverage]

CDCTA Spring H.T. (Ruckersville, VA) [Website] [Volunteer][Scoring]

Pine Hill Spring H.T (Belleville, TX) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Rocking Horse Spring H.T (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Links to Start Your Sunday:

Let your horses have The Free Burn

Troubleshooting Horse Trailer Loading: One Step at a Time

Adams-Blackmore Earns An Unexpected Win At TerraNova

Waredaca Farm Riding Surface Strategy and Plan

Tryon International is accepting 2023 Internship applications

Weekly Pick from SmartPak: We are big fans of SmartPak’s latest blog, Riding is for Everybody and Every Body. Click the link to read about SmartPak’s commitment to showcasing diversity and to creating inclusive products. Plus, meet SmartPak rider, Micaela Shea 👋

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SmartPak Equine (@smartpak)

Morning Viewing: Just two weeks left until Kentucky!! Are you ready?

Bold Tiger Euthanized at Stable View

By on Apr 8, 2023 6:23 pm -

We are deeply saddened to report that Bold Tiger, ridden by Dr. Nikki Scherrer, DVM, was euthanized following an accident on the CCI2*-S cross country on Saturday at Stable View.

The event released the following statement:

It is with great sadness that we announce that Bold Tiger, ridden by Dr. Nikki Scherrer, DVM and owned by Jill Tallman, was humanely euthanized as a result of an accident on cross country while competing at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina. The pair was competing in the CCI2*-S division.

The horse is being taken to the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for necropsy examination.

The rider, Nikki Scherrer, was transported to the hospital for further examination, out of abundance of caution, but no major injuries were sustained.

Stable View extends our sincere condolences to all of Bold Tiger’s connections and wishes Scherrer the best in her recovery.

The entire team at EN extends our deepest sympathies to all who knew and loved Bold Tiger.

Watch and Learn: A Strong Lower Leg Starts at the Hip and Core

By on Apr 8, 2023 2:29 pm -

Laura Collett and London 52: a perfect example of the lofty heights that can be reached when a secure, stable position is maintained through correct training and exercise. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Applying a consistent leg aid comes from the strength and stability in the hip and core. In a dressage seat, you should let your leg hang around the horse like a wet towel — this comes from an internal rotation that starts at the hip joint. I had the opportunity last weekend to audit an Erik Duvander clinic, and a JJ Tate clinic, and across the disciplines and levels, the thing I consistently heard addressed was how to apply a correct leg aid — and how to keep that leg aid applied.

This got me thinking of an exercise called the Seated March. This exercise not only strengthens the core — by its very nature, it enables you to correctly fire in your hip flexors as well. A proviso, though: I would not do this exercise at the preliminary level listed below if you have arthritis in your hip joint, as it will probably aggravate it more than support it. You can feel free to do it at the two more basic levels, though.

The Seated March is a particularly great exercise because you won’t need any equipment and so you can do it anywhere. All you need is a timer and your determination.

(Author’s note: The levels in this exercise don’t actually correlate with the level you are competing! They are simply denominators in order from easiest to most advanced.)

The Beginner Novice modification of the Seated March exercise.

Beginner Novice: I want you to sit on your glutes on the ground with your legs out in front of you, and your feet on the floor.  You’re going to begin by bringing your hands under your thighs, and then you’re going to lean back, keeping your spine straight. Try to keep as little weight in your arms as possible. Set a timer and hold this position for two minutes.

The Novice iteration.

Novice: Start in a seated position with your feet on the ground. Maintaining a straight spine, lean back until your feel your abdominals really engage. Hold your arms straight out in front of you, and keep this position without allowing your spine to curl for two minutes. If you need to grab on to your legs with your hands that’s fine, but make sure you maintain a straight spine.

The Preliminary Seated March — where the marching actually begins!

Preliminary: Sit on the ground with your feet out in front of you, with your knees bent. Engage through your core and lean back. Straighten your arms so you are reaching forward, but keep your shoulders rolled down and back. Lift one leg and lower it, then lift the other leg and lower it. Keep going back and forth like you are marching. Do not allow your pelvis to tuck under — if you feel your spine starting to curl, grab on to the back of your thighs with your arms. Set a timer and ‘march’ for two minutes.

Here’s a video of me running through the exercise to help you get a feel for how it’s done:

Laura Crump Anderson is a certified as a personal trainer by the American College of Sports Medicine and is a Registered 200 Hour Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. She specializes in working with riders of all ages and disciplines through her business, Hidden Heights Fitness, and is also the author of Ultimate Exercise Routines for Riders. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science, and has evented through Training level. Read more of her EN fitness columns here.

Ireland’s Lisgarvan House Stud to Host First International Horse Trials

By on Apr 8, 2023 10:10 am -

The Lisgarvan House International Horse Trials Team: Event Director Clive Corrigan, Kate Corrigan, Bridget Lawlor, Amy Corrigan, Grace Corrigan Emily Corrigan, Emma Redmond, Willie Corrigan. Front: Liam and Ava Corrigan.

Lisgarvan House Stud, a family-run stud farm and equestrian event venue located in Co. Carlow, today announced they will host their first international horse trials this August 24–27. This event will bring together many top riders and horses for a showcase of eventing action.

Lisgarvan House Stud has a long-standing reputation for excellence in equestrian sports, having previously hosted two successful Eventing Ireland National Championships in 2021 and 2022.  The upcoming international horse trials will build on this experience and provide a world-class platform for riders and horses to compete at the highest level.

Lisgarvan House International Horse Trials will present 6 international classes CCI4*S, CCI3*L, CCI3*S, CCI2*L, CCI2*S and CCI1* Intro.  In addition, the highly anticipated Eventing Ireland Grassroots Championships Final will be held on Sunday 27 August. More information on the Grassroots Championship will be announced shortly.

Clive Corrigan, Event Director of Lisgarvan House International Horse Trials, says: “We are incredibly proud to host our first international horse trials here at Lisgarvan House Stud. Our commitment is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all competitors and their owners and support teams. Our ambition is to create a platform for top competition, delivering a challenging and fair cross-country course. We want the competitors and their horses to feel at home and enjoy their experience, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make that happen.”

Olympic rider and cofounder of EquiRatings, Sam Watson is also looking forward to tackling this new event. “I am thrilled to be able to target the Lisgarvan House International Horse Trials. The facilities and setting at this venue are truly exceptional, and I have no doubt that this event will be one of the highlights of the eventing calendar. I am looking forward to competing on the challenging and well-designed cross-country course, and I know that all of the riders will appreciate the warm and welcoming atmosphere that the team at Lisgarvan House Stud is known for.”

The Corrigan family and staff at Lisgarvan House International would like to extend a warm welcome to all riders, horses, and spectators who plan to attend the international horse trials in August 2023.

For more information on the Lisgarvan House International Horse Trials, please visit  www.lisgarvanhouseinternational.com

Saturday Links from World Equestrian Brands

By on Apr 8, 2023 12:01 am -

Kristin Schmolze and Ballylaffin Bracken. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

We’re sending our best wishes for as speedy a recovery as possible to Kristin Schmolze, who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained while hand walking a horse last month. As is the case with TBIs, recovery is a long slow process and overexerting oneself too soon can really delay recovery. Kristin is therefore looking to add some reliable and experienced help around her farm while she is sidelined.

If you’re local to the Watkinsville, GA area and are looking for a gig with the potential to turn into something longer-term, get in touch with Kristin via her email or her good friend Robyn Ford’s email. Robyn has also set up a GoFundMe for Kristin to help with her business expenses during her recovery.

Take care of yourself, Kristin, we are thinking of you!

U.S. Weekend Action:

Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Course Preview] [EN’s Coverage]

CDCTA Spring H.T. (Ruckersville, VA) [Website] [Volunteer][Scoring]

Pine Hill Spring H.T (Belleville, TX) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Rocking Horse Spring H.T (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Links to Start Your Weekend:

Frankie Thieriot Stutes: One Horse and One Woman Wonder

Big smiles as five-star stalwart returns to eventing after injury: ‘Like putting on a pair of old slippers’

Providing Horses Relief During Allergy Season

Horses and their naturally occurring asthma a valuable research model

Introducing an Aggressive Horse in a New Herd: The Do’s and Don’ts

Sponsor Corner: Cornelia Dorr was flying high in her Sergio Grasso boots from World Equestrian Brands at the USEA Development Team Training sessions.

Morning Viewing: Laura Collett has a couple for tips for introducing your horse to skinny fences. More where this came from in her H&C+ Masterclass!

Cooley Quicksilver Rises to Stable View 4* Show Jumping Challenge for Halliday-Sharp

By on Apr 7, 2023 6:49 pm -

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Show jumping proved influential this afternoon at the Stable View Spring CCI4*-S. Even well executed, organized rounds fell victim to errant poles across John Williams’ course, but those who could get home clear were kindly rewarded with a new rung on the leaderboard.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and her “very weird” parter Cooley Quicksilver rose to the top after a classy round that keeps them on their dressage score of 23.9, which is a personal best for the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Womanizer – Kylemore Crystal, by Creggan Diamond).

“I was thrilled with him today I thought he was very professional, and tried really really hard,” Liz said of the first phase. “Sometimes you can be a bit of a goof and make some silly, unnecessary mistakes but he really fought for me today and I was I was very pleased with the test.”

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Liz elected to not run cross country with “Monster” at the Carolina International two weeks ago due to a skin allergen flare, but he seemed very much back to himself today with his usual professional performance.

“I think we made the right decision there [to withdraw at Carolina] because he’s such a consistent horse — he doesn’t have rails and he just wasn’t really feeling himself so he did the right thing to save him for another day,” she said. “Cooley Quicksilver jumped amazing [today]. It was one of the best rounds he’s done I think. I was really, really pleased with him.”

No stranger to winning, Liz plans to be quick around Capt. Mark Phillips’ track tomorrow to be competitive, but more importantly to give Monster the best prep possible for the upcoming CCI5*-L at Luhmühlen this summer.

“He’s in a good place. He’s feeling really great and feeling good about himself, which is where he needs to be to run cross country. And like say he’s a horse that I tend to always run pretty quick because he likes a lot of leg on and he kind of likes that pressure — it just suits him better. And his next run will be the Kentucky four-star After this, so it would be a good good fitness run for him tomorrow, for sure.”

Liz is also 6th and tied for 11th, respectively, with her other two Kentucky-bound horses, Miks Master C and Deniro Z.

Woods Baughman and C’est la Vie 135. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Woods Baughman moved from sixth to second after a clear round with his family-owned C’est la Vie 135. Despite an error in his test for performing a shoulder-in one letter too early, they still earned an impressive 26.7 from judges Peter Gray and Bea DiGrazia in the first phase.

“Contendro” brings forward ample enthusiasm to each phase, and generally benefits from an arena familiarization. Due to travel delays, Woods wasn’t able to take advantage of that opportunity yesterday, but he thinks it actually helped produce a better performance from the 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Contendro I – Anette, by Aarking xx).

“I normally take him in the ring because he can be a little funny, but I got here a little later than I planned last night, so I missed the familiarization. He was a little bit more backed off than I would have liked, and I had to kick him a bit around the ring which I think actually was good for him because it kept him in a nice rhythm and everything just kept coming really smoothly,” he said.

Woods has tweaked his approach to jumping this winter to achieve more ridability over fences with Condentro, and you could see that over today’s course where he was tactfully hitting his strides and intentionally adding steps to ensure control, and he says he’s looking to replicate that tomorrow as well.

“I was really happy when I walked [the cross country]. It has a lot of good questions that are definitely hard enough, but they’re presented in a nice enough way that you can give the horse a lot of confidence doing them,” he said. “There’s obviously inside line where you could be a little bit more aggressive here and there, but that’s definitely not the goal with him. So there’s there’s the option in plenty of places to take a little time and give him a nice, confident round where he can play with going forward and coming back.”

Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Stable View has a pretty home base, laid-back atmosphere, which didn’t seem to inspire a lot of brilliance from Off The Record in the dressage according to rider Will Coleman, but their result of 27 plus a clear show jumping performance moved the pair into overnight third. Their current position is enviable enough, but especially so for the perennially reliable “Timmy” who had an uncharacteristic stop in the show jumping at Carolina that resulted in Will falling off.

“It’s definitely better than lying on my backside looking at the clouds like like we were at Carolina a few weeks ago,” he said. “I thought he felt confident and careful [today]. And you know, I do think that was an odd episode what happened with him at Carolina. I think it rattled him a little bit because you could just tell the next few rounds I did some horse shows and even at home, but I was pleased that he came here today and seemed to be on his game.”

Like many of the four-star competitors, Will is aiming the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (VDL Arkansas – Drumagoland Bay) at his third appearance at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in three weeks time and tomorrow is a key preparatory run.

“It feels like a long way around for 6 minutes, 14 seconds. I think we’ll be looking to use the run as a good fitness run, so I’m gonna probably let him go a little bit — maybe with a focus on just keeping it rideable and making sure that he’s listening. But it should suit him,” he said. “I think the beginning is nice and galloping open and, and there’s a couple tricky combinations towards the end, particularly that Sunken Road question, which I think we’re all sort of maybe interested to see how that rides but other than that, it’s a nice course and hopefully, we’ll have a good go.”

Jennie Saville and Stella Artois. Photo by Shelby Allen.

The very last four-star combination of the day, Jennie Saville and Stella Artois, a 15-year-old Hanoverian mare (Satisfaction FRH — Comtessa, by Contender) owned by the Stella Artois Syndicate,  faced a deluge of rainfall during their round, but still managed to keep all the poles in their cups which landed them in fourth place on their dressage score of 27.4. Jennie produced another clear round aboard FE Lifestyle to see Nina and Tim Gardner’s 13-year-old DSP gelding (Leo von Faelz — Berina A, by Bradenburger) step into seventh position.

Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Third-placed Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg, a 16-year-old Trakehner gelding (Windfall II – Thabana, by Buddenbrock) owned by Christine, Thomas and Tommie Turner, dropped a rail at fence three, an oxer off a rollback turn, and those four penalty points moved them into fifth place.

Buck Davidson and Carlevo. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Dressage leaders Buck Davidson and Carlevo, a 16-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Eurocommerce Caresino – Ramatuelle, by Levernois) owned by Katherine O’Brien, had rails down at the a elements of both fence 7 and 11, moving them into a tie for 8th place which they share with Phillip Dutton and Z, a 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Asca Z – Bellabouche, by Babouche VH Gehucht Z) owned by Evie Dutton, Ann Jones, Suzanne Lacy, Caroline Moran, Tom Tierney, Patricia Vos and David Vos.. Both pairs have a score of 30.5.

Boyd Martin and Contessa. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Boyd Martin rounds out the top ten aboard Contessa, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Contender – Veritas, by Esteban) owned by Club Contessa. who achieved a clear round, on a score of 30.6.

Sydney Solomon and Early Review C. Photo by Shelby Allen.

One third of the class demonstrated a penalty-free show jumping performance. In addition to those in the top ten, other notable clear rounds include Caroline Martin with She’s The One (11th), Sydney Solomon with Early Review C (14th), Doug Payne with Quantum Leap (15th), and Emily Hamel with Corevett (19th).

The first CCI4* leaves the start box at 12:23 p.m. Check out our course walk at this link to see what riders are up against.

Go eventing.

Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Course Preview] [EN’s Coverage]

Friday Video from SmartPak: Cross-Country Prep from the Ground

By on Apr 7, 2023 5:00 pm -

There are so many reasons why you might want to work on cross-country skills from the ground: your horse might be too young or inexperienced to learn them under saddle; you might be dealing with a confidence crisis or an injury of your own; or, you might fancy just giving your horse the opportunity to figure out his own footwork without having to compensate for the balance of a rider on top. Whichever reason compels you, it’s a great way to use your time — and one that even the great Michael Jung uses frequently with his horses. This intensive video lesson will show you how best to tackle everything you’ll find on course, including ditches, water, banks, and more, both safely and effectively. Happy jumping!

Have you heard of the SmartPak SmartBarns service yet? SmartPak wants to make it easier for you to take great care of the horses and clients in your barn. The SmartBarn Services Team pairs you with your very own Barn Consultant, giving you access to exclusive benefits, including: Supplement advice & planning, Personalized account management, and Inside access to SmartPak Experts. Visit smartpak.com/SmartBarns to learn more.

 

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