Classic Eventing Nation

Tuesday Videos from Horseware: More Stretches Designed to Help Riders

By on Dec 22, 2020 4:30 pm -

I dare you to bend over and try to touch your toes right now. Hurts a little, doesn’t it? As riders, our legs and core (ok, our whole bodies, really) are heavily tasked to keep us not only in the saddle but working hard to achieve something that looks like harmony. Tight, painful muscles do nothing to help accomplish these goals, so implementing a stretching routine of some sort will absolutely do you a world of good as a supplement.

We introduced you to the new fitness-focused video series published by Horseware last week, and now we’re bringing you two new stretches to work into your routine. First up, hamstrings:

What about your core? A strong core is an essential for any rider, and it’s something that we can all spend a little more time focusing on. As a lifelong poor posture participant, I’ve tried to integrate more of this yoga and pilates type of strengthening and I found this core-strengthening video to be particularly useful:

Happy stretching!

This Reader’s Horsey Holiday Cookies are ALL Your Horse Needs this Winter

By on Dec 22, 2020 3:00 pm -

These horsey holiday cookies look incredible — aside from one reader being incredibly talented at clipping Christmas trees on her horse’s butt, she’s also a master baker! Check out this adapted and improved recipe from Cortni Edwards, and let us know how many your own horse ate!

Photo by Cortni Edwards.

COOKIES:

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼  teaspoon  ground cloves
  • ¼  cup molasses
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together molasses, water, and oil. Mix the liquid with the dry until a smooth dough forms. Knead it a bit to get an even texture. It should be tacky but not sticky. 
  4. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick and cut out shapes, gathering dough and re-rolling as necessary. To make “donuts” cut a hunk of dough and roll into a ball and then between your fingers and the workspace to form a tube. Connect the ends of the tube and roll a little between your fingers to seal. The “pop tarts” are just rectangular cuts of dough that you use your fork to add ridges to the sides.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet.
ICING:

Ingredients:

  • Several spoonfuls of powdered sugar (plus more for consistency)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Soft peppermints (or any other favorite embellishment!) crushed

Instructions:

  1. Spoon some powdered sugar into a bowl. Add about 1-2 tablespoons of the water and mix.
  2. Continue mixing/adding water or sugar until you reach a thick consistency (sticks to the back of the spoon but still flows off). 
  3. Place the icing into a piping bag or a baggie and cut a small bit off a corner. Pipe the icing onto the cooled cookies and dip or sprinkle the crushed peppermints on top. Allow to dry for a few hours until hardened (or overnight if you’re lazy like me!) 


These cookies are picky eater approved — Cortni’s horse, Spring, doesn’t like fancy name brand cookies, just the cheapest ones from Tractor Supply…but she LOVES these! 

Spring’s butt getting in the holiday spirit. Photo by Cortni Edwards.

PS. Non-iced cookies are safe for dogs 🙂 

Go Eventing! And Baking!

Fab Freebie: Win a Copy of Jan Marsden Hamilton’s Stride Control from Horse & Rider Books

By on Dec 22, 2020 12:00 pm -

We’ve partnered with Horse and Rider Books (Trafalgar Square Books) to give away a copy of a few of their most popular titles this holiday season. Are you still shopping for some last-minute holiday gifts? You can enjoy 20% off at the TSB Online Bookstore by clicking here – don’t wait! Sale ends on December 24.

Image courtesy of Horse & Rider Books.

We’re back with a fresh new book giveaway to bolster your bookshelf this winter! We’d also like to congratulate last week’s Fab Freebie winner, Abby Basner, who will receive a copy of Yoga for Riders. Let’s get into this week’s book giveaway: Stride Control by Jan Marsden Hamilton.

From the Horse & Rider Books website:

“Stride control (striding) is an essential part of any rider’s development when jumping obstacles, and jumping them well, is a goal. Understanding and implementing stride control (being able to adjust the number of strides before and between fences) improves a horse’s rideability and allows the rider to further improve the horse’s technique over an obstacle. Now, after coaching countless riders and horses around the world in the striding techniques that brought her success during her own impressive competitive career, and Hamilton has compiled her knowledge in a concise book of exercises and insightful strategies. This fun, approachable guide will help all riders train with correctness and form good habits at home so they can be stars at their next jumping or eventing competition. Exercises include detailed set-up instructions and illustrations for reference; clear discussion of the purpose and strategy for the training session; and helpful tips, to ensure all involved are benefiting from the lesson. Throughout, Hamilton’s straight-talk and wry humor entertain as well as advise, providing an all-around superb guide to a necessary jumping skill.”

To enter this giveaway, simply use one of the options from the Rafflecopter widget below. We’ll announce the winner next Tuesday, December 22 when we unveil our next book giveaway. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unable to use the widget? Click here to visit the raffle page!

Terms and Conditions: Thank you for entering our Fab Freebie! The Rafflecopter widget above will collect your email address, which may be shared with the sponsor of the giveaway but will not be sold or shared with any other third parties.

Get Familiar with the FEI Eventing Dressage Tests Changing/Updating in 2021

By on Dec 22, 2020 9:00 am -

Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

As the year turns over, there are a few changes to stay on top of. There are a few rule changes in both the USEF and FEI rulebooks for eventing coming down the pipe in 2021, and now there are just a few modifications to some of the FEI Eventing Dressage tests that will take effect on January 1.

For riders competing in CCI2* events, you’ll have new versions of both Test A and Test B to familiarize yourself with; luckily, these changes are minor and do not affect the actual movements or order in which they are performed. Most of the changes appear to be clarification and wording-focused.

FEI CCI2* Test A – 2021
FEI CCI2* Test B – 2021

For those competing at the CCI3* level, there is a new Test B that will go into effect on January 1. There are a couple of key changes here, notably moving the shoulder-in from the quarter-line to the rail, removal of the haunches-in movement, and a change to the location of the medium canter towards the end of the test. Riders will now have a bit more time to create the medium canter (starting the movement at S versus H in the former version), but will now need to collect at K with less time to organize before the corner. Movement 14, a downward transition from canter, now requires collected trot instead working as previously listed.

FEI CCI3* Test B – 2021

Finally for CCI1* competitors, there will be a new test coming in mid-January – stay tuned for more on this. To access all FEI Eventing Dressage tests, click here. To refresh your USEF Eventing Dressage Test knowledge, click here.

All other FEI and USEF Eventing Dressage tests remain unchanged for 2021.

Tuesday News & Notes from Legends Horse Feeds

By on Dec 22, 2020 12:01 am -

Equestrian photographer Amy Dragoo may have had her most fun shoot yet. Many on the East Coast were pummeled with snow this week, but June Hillman and Becca Kaplan knew how to make the most of it. This brings new meaning to dashing through the snow, huh?

National Holiday: National Date Nut Bread Day

Events Opening Today: Sporting Days Farm February H.T., Three Lakes Winter I H.T. at Caudle Ranch

Events Closing Today: Barnstaple South H.T

Tuesday News: 

If you use Marstall feed, be aware that the latest batch has been contaminated with caffeine, a Controlled Medication and Specified Substance on the FEI Equine Prohibited Substances List. Marstall found the ingredient apple pomade to the be culprit. [FEI Warning Regarding Contaminated Batches of Feed – Caffeine]

Many riders struggle with the quiet of the off season, but Jimmy Wofford thinks that’s where the magic happens. This is where you can really achieve a tune up and focus in on your soundness and fitness. Spoiler alert — there’s going to be a lot of walking. [Jim Wofford: Now’s Your Chance]

It was certainly a weird year for eventing, but there was still some International eventing action. The Netherlands ultimately FEI Nations Cup Series, followed by Italy and Poland. [2020: A Year in Eventing & Driving]

The US Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) has officially approved mules to compete in affiliated competition. This has been an hard-fought effort for many mule riders and owners, and riders are delighted for their four-legged friends. [Delight as US rule change means all systems go for showjumping mules]

Headphones, in. The latest U.S. Eventing Podcast is out. [USEA Podcast #273: A #TeamTalk Look Back at 2020]

Tuesday Video: Instagram vs. Reality

Monday Video: Clean, Crisp Clip Lines with Niki Baxter

By on Dec 21, 2020 4:30 pm -

Freelance groom Niki Baxter is here to show you how to give your horse the best lockdown haircut possible! In this video she’ll walk you through her methods to perfect three different styles of clip jobs.

Niki is a self-taught equine groom from Scotland who initially gained recognition through posting photos of her clip and braiding jobs on Instagram. She now travels around the UK clipping and grooming for clients and doing demonstrations. You can learn lots more tips and tricks from Niki on her Instagram, where nearly every photo gives a detailed answer to a grooming question, and her YouTube channel, where you can find more tutorials from her.

Weekly OTTB Wishlist: OTTB Buying and Selling? There’s An App For That

By on Dec 21, 2020 3:00 pm -

On the hunt for an off-the-track-Thoroughbred? There’s an app for that now!

Meet OTTB United, a sleek new app founded by Amy Rubin and developed in partnership with the Retired Racehorse Project to connect (or unite, if you will) all of the entities – buyers, sellers, shippers, trainers, aftercare organizations – involved in rehoming a Thoroughbred racehorses within in a single place. The app’s creators are OTTB enthusiasts and the app has been designed for OTTB enthusiasts alike.

Instead of scrolling in search of ads on Facebook or leafing through website after website, OTTB United provides an easy-to-use horse shopping interface that’s searchable by height, gender, location, price, age, and certain keywords. Messaging sellers is integrated within the app, as is searching for and communicating with equine shippers. You’ll also find a wide range of horses: some fresh off-the-track or even still on the track, some currently residing at well-known aftercare organizations, and some fully restarted by experienced trainers. It’s a truly impressive one-stop-shop designed to make your search for your next OTTB that much easier, no matter what you’re looking for or where you are in the country. After just one month as a live app, OTTB United  has already helped to find new homes for an impressive 86 OTTBs.

We’ve pulled three horses from the app that caught our eye this week. To see their full listing, you’ll need to download the app from the App Store or Google Play. The app is free to download and browse horses, but you’ll need to purchase a premium subscription to message sellers or post horses for sale yourself. You can feel extra good about this subscription though, as it’s just $4.99 a month and a portion of that fee supports the Retired Racehorse Project and other aftercare organizations of your choice.

Val’s My Gal. Photo via OTTB United.

Val’s My Gal (THE BIG BEAST – RED HOT LOVER, BY SWORD DANCE (IRE)): 2017 16.1-hand Florida-bred gelding

This gorgeous young gelding (yes, gelding, it’s a confusing name!) has three career starts under his belt, including one win, and his last race was in July of this year.

From the app: “Uphill and athletic youngster with a great brain. Val was recently gelded but you would never know it. He is sweet and respectful. Very sporty build and lofty mover. He is barefoot in video.”

Located in Waterford, Virginia.

View Val’s My Gal on OTTB United.

Hand Tooled. Photo via OTTB United.

Hand Tooled (INDY EXPRESS – CHEROKEE WOMAN, BY CHEROKEE RUN): 2016 16.2-hand New Mexico-bred gelding

Hand Tooled, known as “Chompa” around the barn, is an unraced four-year-old with a desirable pedigree for eventing.

From the app: “Indy Express has produced a lot of event horses. This line also produced Andrea Baxter’s Indy 500 who has competed internationally at the highest of the levels. Chompa is currently unstarted but has a quiet demeanor and should be a fairly easy horse to start. He is a big mover and showed a great technique on his first time over fences.”

Located in Clovis, California.

View Hand Tooled on OTTB United.

Starship Explorer. Photo via OTTB United.

Starship Explorer (BLUEGRASS CAT – FANCY PRANCER, BY BERTRANDO): 2012 17.1-hand Kentucky-bred gelding

This eight-year-old came off the track in 2018 after making 33 career starts and earning $76,512. He’s since been going eventing!

From the app: “‘Astro’ has competed up to Training level eventing. He is immensely talented but requires an experienced rider. He can get quite strong so he needs a rider that can ride from the seat and not just the hand. Could be an amazing horse for the right person. Very flexible on price and lease options. The right home is the first priority! No vices, trailers well, can be turned out alone or in a group. An absolute sweetheart in the barn!

Located in Ocala, Florida.

View Starship Explorer on OTTB United.

Germany Names Olympic Short Lists, Ingrid Klimke Selected to Eventing, Dressage Squads

By on Dec 21, 2020 12:00 pm -

Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob OLD. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Versatility Committee of the German Olympics Committee for Equestrianism (DOKR) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) have released the Olympic, Prospective, and Junior squads for the three Olympic disciplines ahead of the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games. Notable among the Olympic squad members is Ingrid Klimke, who has been named to both the Eventing as well as the Dressage squads.

For this Olympic cycle, we’ll see the beginning of a new team structure, with three riders plus one reserve horse and rider to be sent for each discipline, from each federation. This is a reduced number, down from three-to-four riders with no reserve. To view a comparison of these format changes, click here.

It comes as a surprise to no one to see Ingrid Klimke named to both lists, and certainly she’s earned the additional accolade with the notable success she’s collected aboard Franziskus, a 12-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Wilhem Holkenbrink. Should Ingrid pack up two horses for Tokyo, it would be the first time an equestrian has competed in two disciplines at the Olympics since Sir Mark Todd competed in both eventing and jumping in 1992. Ingrid is also selected with 2020 German Eventing champion SAP Asha P and 2016 Olympic partner SAP Hale Bod OLD.

Additionally of note among the Olympic squad for 2021 are two horses each selected for 2014 World Equestrian Games gold medalist Sandra Auffarth and reigning Olympic eventing gold medalist Michael Jung.

We can expect to see more finalized nominated entries for Tokyo coming forth later in 2021, but for now please join us in congratulating all of these short-listed riders. It is no small feat to qualify for competition at this level, and particularly after a devastatingly tough year these achievements must be celebrated.

The Eventing Olympic and Prospective Squads for Germany in 2021 are as follows:

Olympic

  • Sandra Auffarth (Ganderkesee) with Let’s Dance and Viamant du Matz
  • Andreas Dibowski (Döhle) with FRH Corrida
  • Michael Jung (Horb) with fischerChipmunk FRH and fischerRocana FST
  • Ingrid Klimke (Münster) with SAP Asha P and SAP Hale Bob OLD
  • Julia Krajewski (Warendorf) with Samourai du Thot

Prospective

  • Nikolai Aldinger (Salzhausen) with Newell
  • Sophie Leube (Hamm) with Jadore Moi
  • Andreas Ostholt (Warendorf) with Corvette
  • Kai Rüder (Blieschendorf) with Colani Sunrise
  • Anna Siemer (Salzhausen) with Butt’s Avondale and Betel’s Bella
  • Anna Katharina Vogel (Biessenhofen) with Quintana P
  • Christoph Wahler (Bad Bevensen) with Carjatan S

Looking to the dressage squads, the following riders have been named:

Olympic

  • Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (Aubenhausen) with TSF Dalera BB and Zaire-E
  • Ingrid Klimke (Münster) with Franziskus
  • Helen Langehanenberg (Billerbeck) with Annabelle
  • Hubertus Schmidt (Borchen-Etteln) with Escolar
  • Dorothee Schneider (Framersheim) with DSP Sammy Davis jr.
  • Faustus and Showtime FRH
  • Frederic Wandres (Hagen aTW) with Duke of Britain
  • Benjamin Werndl (Aubenhausen) with Daily Mirror and Famoso OLD
  • Isabell Werth (Rheinberg) with DSP Quantaz
  • Emilio and Weihegold OLD

Prospective

  • Senta Kirchhoff (Menden) with L’Arbuste OLD
  • Sönke Rothenberger (Bad Homburg) with Santiano R
  • Carina Scholz (Glandorf) with Tarantino

The 2021 Olympic and Prospective Jumping Squads will include:

Olympic

  • Christian Ahlmann (Marl) with Dominator 2000 Z
  • Simone Blum (Zolling) with DSP Alice
  • Daniel Deußer (Rijmenam / BEL) with Killer Queen VDM
  • Marcus Ehning (Borken) with Comme il faut NRW
  • Maurice Tebbel (Emsbüren) with Don Diarado

Prospective

  • Christian Kukuk (Riesenbeck) with Mumbai
  • André Thieme (Plau am See) with Chakaria
  • Philipp Weishaupt (Riesenbeck) with Asathir
  • David Will (Marburg) with C-Vier

Monday News & Notes

By on Dec 21, 2020 8:07 am -

“Somewhere in the world, the 2028 Olympic champion is a foal out in a field. He’s ewe-necked, sickle-hocked, downhill…

Posted by Lauren Sprieser on Sunday, 20 December 2020

Lauren Sprieser‘s Facebook post yesterday resonated hard with me. As a writer, photographer, or ‘content creator’ of any kind, it’s so, so common to see your work divvied up and reposted sans credit. Often, this is done with the best of intentions and not with the end goal of destabilising someone’s livelihood, but unfortunately, that’s just what it does.

So what can a creative do? Use huge watermarks that obscure their images? Put their stories behind a paywall? The thing is, we want the world to see, enjoy, and share our work, because we pour our heart and soul into it – but as a consumer of digital media, it’s up to you to ensure you share responsibly. Seen an article you loved? Share it from the source, so your friends click back to the original published article to read, ensuring the writer is given credit and the publisher is able to generate the ad-based revenue that allows them to pay their contributors. Love a photo? Share it from the photographer’s own post or website, linking back to their page with a credit. Don’t just save and repost or copy and paste – because by doing so, you help to dilute the connection between the work and the person who spent time creating it. Over time, that also minimises their ability to make money from their labour – a death knell for full-time, often self-employed creatives and the publications they work with.

National Holiday: It’s National Maine Day — big up for the weird place I used to live — and also National Homeless Persons’ Remembrance Day. This is a crap year for all of us, but particularly hard for those who are sleeping rough and having a hard time accessing resources. Consider brightening up your own Christmas by donating to your local food bank this week.

Your Monday Reading List:

UK readers, Christmas has come early: the BE fixture list for 2021 has dropped. Time for some well-earned daydreaming with an empty calendar, several coloured pens, and an absolutely enormous coffee to hand. Is this…a sense of normalcy? Weird. [Event Calendar 2021]

Remember Baz Luhrmann’s slightly odd epic film Australia? You’d be forgiven for not remembering the plot, like, at all — but you probably remember that it featured an array of rather lovely horses. Head behind the scenes to find out more about the illustrious equine cast, training Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman to ride, and Luhrmann’s insistence on saying ‘lights, camera, apples’ to avoid upsetting the horses. [The Secrets Behind ‘Australia’]

Christmas is going to be a bit of a different one this year, particularly for those of us in the UK who’ve just been foisted into tier 4. But how are the stars planning to celebrate? Horse&Hound gets the goss from Sir Mark Todd. [Mark Todd’s Christmas Day: ‘we fill ourselves up with food and feel sick for the rest of the day!’]

I’m currently obsessed with the story of the Pack Horse Library. This roving group of mounted librarians emerged out of the Great Depression and criss-crossed Kentucky, providing literacy opportunities to isolated families. You know what that reminds me of? Our gal Caitlin Gooch of Saddle Up and Read. [The Women Who Rode Miles on Horseback to Deliver Library Books]

If all this pandemic kerfuffle has distracted you from the ongoing Brexit nightmare, you’re out of luck. Now it turns out that grooms and riders travelling from the UK to Europe won’t be insured – and apparently, it’ll be very difficult to nail down any cover. Great. [Grooms and riders warned travel insurance may not cover them in Europe]

Showjumper Georgina Bloomberg has been battling a debilitating spinal condition throughout her career. Now, on the other side of surgeries, fusions, and intense physical therapy, she’s reflecting on the nature of injuries in equestrians – and sharing what she’s learned about letting your body heal rather than pushing through the pain. [Georgina Bloomberg: Finding Her Way Back to the Top]

 

Morning Viewing: 

Someone find me a team of Shetlands, because this is my kind of good time.

EN’s Top 10 Videos of 2020, #5: Can You Master a Single Pole?

By on Dec 20, 2020 10:00 am -

We’re counting down the top videos shared on EN this year! To see videos 6-10, click here.

With extra time on our hands, Andrew Hoy has decided to spend it wisely! On Twitter, he’s re-sharing a few at home exercises. First, he starts with the something basic, like really basic — a single pole. It’s harder than it looks.