We’ve got a new challenge for eventing nation with one of this season’s hottest commodities. Susan Thomas upped the ante for her student’s grid lesson. The whole Charbonnet Sport Horses crew gave it a go through the five jump efforts, and Sarah Beth Hood came out as as the TP Champion.
Go eventing.
Flexible Fit Equestrian: Redefining Comfort & Quality at an Affordable Price. Learn more at www.ffequestrian.com.au.
What would YOU do with a $500 gift card from SmartPak? That may be my new all-time favorite philosophical question. But that gift card could be yours, literally, just for answering a quick few questions on the SmartPak website. The contest is open through Sunday, April 26, and the winner will be announced via social media on May 6.
Ahhhhhhhhhh dang … this makes me miss the big SmartPak tent at Kentucky! All those sales, all those discounts to splurge on. No kidding dispatch from #work-from-home-life: when I’ve run out of clean(ish) pajama pants I’ve pulled on some Piper tights and that’s my quarantine athleisure go-to. It’s basically Lululemon for horse people. Be active in them or just lie on the couch watching Netflix in them, #YOLO!
Nation Media hearts SmartPak — these guys have been with us from the get-go and we consider them our #1 supporters. This company has REVOLUTIONIZED the equestrian retail market and now, with their live retail presence curtailed, it’s time for us to show them OUR support in turn. Enter this $500 giveaway, yes, but also just go to the SmartPak site and place an order.
Go Shopping. And Go Eventing (Someday!)
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CLICK HERE to find out where to shop. (Hint! Valley Vet carries Banixx and they’re offering 10% off this month!)
Each day we’ll be bringing you new deals from over 30 companies via EN’s inaugural Virtual Vendor Village (shop Tuesday’s deals here), and each day I’ll be sharing my top five favorite deals of the day. Here we go, for Tuesday!
(To my event pony Princess: I’m sorry in advance for roasting you. Will make it up to you in baby carrots and HandsOn Gloves.)
SmartPak: This company/equestrian shopping wonderland has been a stalwart cheerleader of Nation Media for so long, we had a feeling that they’d come up with something next-level for our Virtual Vendor Village — and they delivered! What would YOU do with a $500 gift card from SmartPak? Me, I’d “invest it” in about 20 grazing muzzles, which is about how many my Prelim event pony Princess runs through each spring. I don’t know if she is burying them in the woods or sinking them to the bottom of the pond or burning them sacrificially beneath full moons or what.
Look how hangry she is! You’re so cute when you’re mad, Princess. Photo by Mary Hollis Baird.
Anyway, choose your own adventure with regard to SmartPak Supermarket Shopping Spree fantasizing. Enter here today (or anytime between now and midnight Sunday)!
Kentucky Performance Products: Wish your horse was calmer? UM YES! ME! RIGHT HERE!!! Muzzle be darned, that sugary spring grass is going STRAIGHT to Princess’ head and I’m over here just hanging on for dear life. Trouble Free is scientifically formulated to support proper nervous system function and help your horse maintain a more confident, focused, and relaxed disposition. It contains alpha-lactalbumin, a unique ingredient that directly supports normal nerve function, along with supplemental thiamine (B1), taurine, inositol and magnesium. You can try it with this offer for 20% off PLUS free shipping.
Nupafeed: I feel like if you’re going to fat-shame your pony, you just have to go all in. I mean, bless her — it’s not her fault she is a five-star horse trapped in the body of a chubby 14-hand pony. I don’t identify as a 5’1″, naturally prone-to-pudge person either, Princess! Metabolism can be a bummer, but after she tied up post-cross country at our first event together I went deep down the rabbit hole to figure out how to prevent that scary situation from EVER happening again. The solution, in part, came in the form of Nupafeed products. Magnesium and L-Carnitine are both major players in muscle health, and since I started bolstering Princess’ diet with them before events she hasn’t tied up at a competition since. You can get 15% off your entire Nupafeed order today with code LR2020. Also, you can chat with Allison Springer LIVE at 4 p.m. EST today via Nupafeed’s Instagram page!
Hats By Katie: The only person probably sadder than me that the Kentucky Derby got postponed this year is Katie à la Hats by Katie, a Paris, KY boutique that exhibits at Kentucky Three-Day every year. Katie is my style hero (see my interview with her from 2012 here), a driving champion and the maker of gorgeously vogue hats. So, my son Thomas was born on Kentucky cross country day last year, and for his first birthday this year we were going to have a Derby Day party, replete with fancy hats (I was going to get mine from Katie’s booth at Kentucky), mint juleps, derby pie and — wait for it — a heavily sedated Princess dressed as a racehorse giving pony rides in the backyard. Sorry again, Princess! But alas, enter coronavirus, ruining everything as always. The consolation prize is this deal for free shipping from Hats by Katie, using promo code LRK3DE. Derby 2nd birthday party in 2021 … it’s on!
HandsOn Gloves: I feel bad now for spending my other four “picks of the day” sort of picking on my pony, so I’m dedicating this last spot to a product she would truly appreciate: HandsOn Gloves. The only thing Princess loves more than a snack is a good curry — she’s nearly fallen over in the crossties leaning into my hand on several occasions. That’s a testament to HandsOn Gloves, which I first encountered (and snatched up) in the SmartPak tent at the 2018 WEG in Tryon. They are a revolutionary concept for grooming — it’s like, put yourself in your horse’s shoes: would you rather be massaged with a traditional, hard, stiff curry comb or a dexterous, nubby mitt? Mitt: 1, Curry Comb: 0. With HandsOn Gloves, I can use the tiny nubs on the fingers to gently curry out the nooks and crannies of my pony’s lower legs and use the larger dimples on the palm to massage into her haunches. Get yours for 20% off with Code KY20 today!
Go Shopping. Go Eventing!
Been missing out on shopping the vendors of spring events? We are very excited to present the inaugural Eventing Nation Virtual Vendor Village, a week-long online opportunity to score fantastic deals and discover new products from our favorite brands. It’s also a great way to show our support for equestrian businesses that have had to close down shop due to coronavirus restrictions. It truly does take a “village”!
The Virtual Vendor Village is taking place right here on EN from Monday, April 20 through Sunday, April 26. Throughout the week, over 30 companies will be offering a “Deal of the Day” on their products — which means you’ll want to check in on their “booths” daily to make sure you don’t miss a sale! Expect deep discounts, special promotions and product giveaways. PLUS! We’ll be hosting virtual “autograph signings,” live Q&As with top five-star riders and flashback watch parties.
Here’s a roundup of everything happening today:
WATCH PARTY: Today we’re flashing back to the first leg of the 2019 FEI Eventing Nations Cup series at the UK’s Houghton International Horse Trials. Do you remember which team topped the podium? (Hint: It was their fifth consecutive win!) Watch the replay FREE on Horse & Country TV at 8 p.m. EST here.
WIN THIS:
MEET & GREET:
TUESDAY DEALS: Welcome to Tuesday’s Deals! Click on each brand’s tile “booth” to be taken directly to the featured item or brand website. Check out our Editor’s Choice daily picks for Tuesday here.
Tuesday’s Deal Summary!
Same, Lauren, same.
Not being in Kentucky this week definitely hurts, but thankfully we’ve got A LOT to offer you guys this week for EN’s Virtual Vendor Village. Some of our favorite brands are offering super deals and savings that change every day. Keep refreshing our homepage for all the latest.
National Holiday: National Library Workers Day
Tuesday News:
As of now, the USEA American Eventing Championships are still scheduled for August 25-30. The USEA Board will meet soon to make a decision regarding whether qualifications need to be updated. [Update on the 2020 USEA American Eventing Championships Presented by Nutrena Feeds]
We were sad to hear of the passing of Kings Temptress over the weekend. The five-star winner died following complications involving her foal’s delivery. [Devastation as home-bred five-star winner dies; foal adopted by foster mare]
Shoulder-in? Pfft, amateur stuff. Swedish Olympian Ludwig Svennerstål likes to jazz things up a bit by putting this lateral movement on a circle. As someone who absolutely cannot nail a shoulder-in on a straight line, the very thought of it makes me feel a bit queasy, but with his handy explanation of the benefits, and a walk-through of how to ride it, it’s top of my list for the next time I’m able to ride. [#SundaySchool: Ludwig Svennerstål — the benefits of practising shoulder-in on a circle (after lockdown lifts)]
To ride or not to ride? That is the question. While many are turned away from the barn, others, with limited options are still out at the barn managing their horse’s exercise and wellbeing. [In Defense Of Going To The Barn]
Tuesday Video: Check out the most recent episode of “The Long and Short of It”
Sir Mark Todd and McClaren (NZL). Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Hat trick? Nah. Too basic. When it comes to winning Burghley Horse Trials, Mark Todd can one-up, er two-up, that jazz: his titles include 1987 on Wilton Fair, 1990 on Face the Music, 1991 on Welton Greylag, 1997 on Broadcast News (European Open), and 1999 on Diamond Hall Red. And he sure was in the hunt for a sixth win with Leonidas II in 2017, when the pair led the dressage on a score of 36.7. LEGEND.
“[All my victories here] have been so different,” he told Horse & Hound upon his retirement in 2019, fittingly at Burghley. “When I won on Face The Music it was a year when nobody made the time. He was well down after the dressage and he was an incredibly fast horse, so he pulled up the leaderboard and we ended up winning it.”
For today’s Watch Party, we’re going back in time to the 1990 Burghley Horse Trials where Sir Mark Todd claimed his second Burghley title with Face the Music. Watch the replay FREE on Horse & Country TV at 8 p.m. EST here.
This evening at 2100 BST Horse & Country are showing the 1990 Burghley Horse Trials on their free linear channel…
Posted by The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials Official Page on Monday, April 20, 2020
Go Eventing!
In the coming week, we’ll be replaying some of our favorite content from Kentucky(s) past. Today’s comes from EN alumni/forever family Jimmie Schramm, originally published on April 30, 2015.
Jimmie Schramm is all smiles after she and Bellamy complete the Park Question
This post was originally published on April 30, 2015.
How weird it is to think that this time just seven days ago I had completed my first CCI4* jog and was starting to mentally prepare myself for my dressage test the following day. Time really does move at an incredible and unfortunate rate. People always tell you before a significant experience to try and enjoy every minute because it goes so quickly. While you are in these moments, you always seem to forget that piece of advice.
My first Rolex and first four-star experience is threaded with fantastic highs and severe lows. It was not something I had planned for or had even imagined. Going into this event, I did A LOT of day dreaming, as I imagine most first-timers do. I envisioned a record best dressage test; a stellar cross country round in the beautiful, cool, dry Kentucky weather; and show jumping in the afternoon sun on Sunday.
I saw myself and Bellamy galloping across the finish line, hugging his neck and crying happy tears at the finish with my husband, my family and my team, who had worked just as hard if not harder than me to make this whole thing happen.
Jimmie Schramm and Bellamy with Dom Schramm, Chrissy Kenyon and Stephanie Simpson. Photo by Jenni Autry.
What I did not envision was trudging up the hill in the pouring rain staring at my horse’s ass galloping away from me, with a giant mud stain on my brand new white breeches and realizing that maybe neon yellow was a poor choice in underwear for a rainy day. Did I also forget to mention that I was only five jumps from home?
I cannot even express the emotions that ran through me in that moment and that are continuing to run through me now. Everyone has disappointment in their riding careers; it’s inevitable. I had a pretty miserable autumn season in 2014. Absolutely none of those disappointments compares to this one. Even four days after, I still find myself randomly breaking into tears.
All of that being said, I have never had more fun riding Bellamy, or in my life for that matter, than I did at Rolex. God has truly blessed me with the most incredible horse. Was my dressage test a record best? Definitely not, but the work in the warm up was some of the best work I have ever had on him.
Jimmie Schramm and Bellamy. Photo courtesy of Cindy Lawler.
He handled himself relatively well in a huge arena with more atmosphere than he has ever seen. I got to canter down the centerline at Rolex which not many get to ever do. Plus, Sarm Hippique generously made me the most beautiful shadbelly I have ever seen (this is obviously most important), so all the pictures look amazing.
No one likes to go cross country in the rain. I can guarantee you that no one likes to do their first four-star in the rain either, but all of us Rolex Rookies had a good ole baptism by fire on cross country day. I had not once ever ridden Bellamy cross country in the rain. What I did know was that he normally does not like the mud or deep footing.
This time out, though, he was different, and I had a “kick don’t pick” mantra running on repeat in my mind. Fences 1 through 23 were the most fun and exciting experience of my whole existence. Anyone who has seen me completely cheesing in every cross country picture can obviously tell I was having the ride of my life.
Then it all came to a screeching halt with a big brush corner and a flag to the face. In all honesty, I don’t know exactly what happened. Bellamy does historically have a brush corner demon, especially right handed corners, as he has a big cataract in his right eye.
A lot of things were running through my head on my way to the oxer before the corner. One, he has already jumped a right handed corner at the hollow; two, he is jumping amazing, there is no reason for me to not go the straight route; three, option or straight; four, get him great to the oxer and get the distance early to the corner.
He jumped the oxer great, I made the turn, saw the distance, put my leg on, and then I went one way and he didn’t. Whether he slipped then ducked right or just ducked right, the end result was the same.
That is where my first four-star experience ended. I have a friend that says, “The sport of eventing will never love you back, no matter what; it will never love you as much as you love it.” This is very true, unfortunately.
Jimmie with her family and support team.
What I did find out through this whole experience was that the people in the eventing community love me and support me. The riders, the spectators, the fans, the coaches, the photographers, the bloggers — every person in eventing loved me back that day and supported me in my disappointment. That is something that I will treasure from my first Rolex.
Bellamy is happy and sound out in his field on holiday, which is another giant blessing from the finish of the weekend. We will definitely be back next year to conquer Kentucky.
I want to say a personal thank you to my husband Dom, my groom Stephanie, my family, my team that was involved in getting Hells Bells to Kentucky, my amazing sponsors, my fantastic friends and this whole eventing community for the love and continued support. Bellamy and I will be back with a vengeance and, as always, #ibelieveinbells!
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CLICK HERE to find out where to shop. (Hint! Valley Vet carries Banixx and they’re offering 10% off this month!)
Ahhhh you guys, it’s happening! No secret that vendor shopping is one of my favorite eventing pastimes, and we’re so very happy here at EN to connect our favorite companies with other like-minded shoppers. Plus, what a great way to support equestrian businesses, many of which are facing lost revenue from lack of presence at live horse shows.
Each day we’ll be bringing you new deals from over 30 companies via EN’s inaugural Virtual Vendor Village (check out Monday’s deals here), and each day I’ll be sharing my top five favorite deals of the day. Here we go, for Monday!
Stable View: Stable View Farm has had a rough go of 2020 so far. First there was that EF-1 tornado that ripped through the property on Feb. 6, causing many thousands of dollars worth of damage to the farm’s temporary stalls and parts of the cross country course. Despite the damage, Stable View pressed on and held their first dressage show of the season which was scheduled for that weekend. Now, their season has been ground to a halt due to the coronavirus — but Stable View has once again demonstrated its resilience and ability to adapt, launching an innovative Virtual Dressage Show Series for April. Live competition at Stable View will resume eventually, though, and with this 50% off stabling discount voucher you’ll save $$$. Your future self thanks you! Call 484-356-3173 and mention “EN Virtual Vendor Village” for the voucher. Check back daily for new deals. We wish to thank Stable View’s Barry Olliff and wife Cyndy for their continued support of EN and our sport — now is a great time to show them OUR support in kind.
Hound & Hare: I (along with 10/10 of the EN team) am OBSESSED with EVERYTHING at Hound & Hare, a Kentucky company whose booth I haunt annually at Kentucky. Their modus operandi is “British Luxury. Southern Charm.” and I always wander in all googly-eyed and wander out with a loaded shopping bag thinking “Could I be the American version of Kate Middleton? Should I take up clay pigeon shooting? I really ought to foxhunt more.” Today’s Hound & Hare deal is 30% off Guinea London down puffer jackets and vests — that detachable fur collar … are we going tailgating at Badminton next year or what? I totally bought the jacket in navy. Thank you, stimulus check! Seriously, go find your fall three-day jog outfit here rn. Did I mention they are a U.S. retailer of Fairfax & Favor? Many thanks to Hound & Hare Founder, Eric Nicholas, for supporting all of our inner anglophiles. Check back daily for new deals.
I Love My Horse Eventing Boutique: I have a weird spot on my shoulder that I need to have a dermatologist take a glance at, that I’m PRETTY SURE is a no-bueno pre-cancerous something or another. If I could turn back time to my reckless, wanton, sunburnt 20s, I would have spent more time in sun shirts than tank tops — except that sun shirts didn’t exist back then when I was doing horses full-time and out in the sun every day. The future is now; save yourself! With this deal, you can get up to 30% off select styles of Kastel Denmark sun shirts. PLUS, the first six customers to order will receive a Kastel baseball cap signed by Buck Davidson! I Love My Horse Eventing Boutique is an Ocala based mobile tack shop — you’ve likely visited their vendor at events — so with the show season halted let’s all band together to show owner Penny Welsch our support. The boutique doesn’t have an online shop, but visit @Ilovemyhorseeventing on Instagram, email [email protected] or text 727-871-5729 for details. Check back daily for new deals.
Ecovet: It’s starting to get buggy out there — are you stocked up on fly spray? Now’s your chance to stockpile the good stuff with this 30% off offer from Ecovet (use promo code Virtual30Welcome), the first fatty-acid fly repellent for horses. Tested and endorsed by veterinarians, Ecovet provides a legit alternative to toxic pesticides. We’ve all been burnt before by “all-natural fly sprays” that turn out to be useless garbage, but this one is different — IT REALLY WORKS. And! It stays put. Also, while Ecovet v1.0 was admittedly kinda stinky, they’ve since updated the formula with a much more palatable scent, so if you tried it back in the day and didn’t like the smell I’d encourage you to give it another go. Many thanks to Dr. John and his crew for their continued support of EN!
Legends: Think you’re stressed? Life in the corona era giving you ulcers? Welcome to your horse’s world. Training, shipping, competing … it all takes a toll on your horse’s gastrointestinal system. This week you can save $5 on Legends GastroCare, the only supplement in the Legends® line specifically designed to support healthy digestive tract function in show and performance horses. Digestive health can make a massive difference in your horse’s health and well-being — I’ve had horses transform from stiff, grumpy hard-keepers into much better, happier, healthier versions of themselves just from getting to the bottom of GI issues and treating them. Legends GastroCare keeps it from getting to that point in the first place, and you can save big with this deal. Many thanks to Legends for their support of EN!
Go Shopping. Go Eventing (Someday!)
