Event Rider Masters classes were canceled due to COVID-19 last month … but now they’re making a big comeback, at least virtually. Equirating’s new Eventing Manager App was due to launch at ERM Leg 1, Burnham Market, which would have been taking place this weekend. The launch is still going forward — via the ERM SIM Season 2020.
The Simulated Event Rider Masters 2020 Season will be a live online video broadcast for each competition simulation. A field of 20 ERM Riders are chosen for each competition and taking their past form statistics into account, Equiratings runs a computer simulation. Using Equiratings models powered by SAP Predictive Analytics, they will create the likely results for the dressage, show jumping and cross country phases of the competition. Every competitor in the simulation has a chance of having a good or bad competition; they could have a Personal Best Dressage score, only to throw it all away with a 20 penalty refusal in the cross country phase. It really is eventing as we know it; as the exciting sport of a million variables.
Did we mention you have a budget of $10M?
The Equiratings Eventing Manager App (EM App) allows fans to play their own tactical game during each simulation, where a league table pits them up against all other EM App players around the world. Players “buy” a team of four riders and hope their team has success in all three phases. ERM will offer merchandise prizes to the leaders of each EM App fan league to add to the fans’ excitement.
The first ever Simulated Competition of the ERM 2020 SIM Season will be the Barefoots Retreat Burnham Market Simulation taking place today, Sunday April 12th, at 7:45 p.m.(BST)/2:45 p.m.(EST). As you’d expect from an ERM broadcast, you’ll be able to watch live on the ERM website and also on Facebook Live.
The Eventing Manager App is available to download for iOS and Android devices. Find out more about the Eventing Manager App by visiting the EquiRatings website.
The ERM SIM Season is part of the new #RidersConnected campaign, a joint effort between ERM, EquiRatings, Black Horse (the company behind spectator judging) and Willberry Wonder Pony Charity, brought together by SAP.
Happy Easter, EN! While this holiday probably looks different from normal this year, we hope you get to enjoy it someway somehow. Eleazor Davis Farm was busy this weekend spreading some joy with an operation dubbed “Feed The Soul.” Let’s all try to do a little of that in our own homes and communities. Be kind and share the love.
Go eventing and this tiny pony dressed as a bunny:
Easter Bunny and sidekick, Bella Bunny on the way home to Eleazer Davis Farm after spreading smiles around Bedford. Suzanne Schmuhl Koller – Operation Feed the Soul!
Our friends at Horse Nation offer an exclusive look at what is perhaps the ONLY live competition in all of the UK for April 2020: the Aberporth Horse TrAils. This is coverage you won’t want to miss!
When the world has gone mad, sometimes the absolute best way to cope is to go a bit bonkers yourself, especially if you’re a lifelong horsewoman who’s been grounded from riding temporarily because of this tiny little thing known as a global pandemic.
Thank God for cross country creativity, a grand prix-level wit and a delightfully accomplished rider! Enter Faye Barry-Pavey and her soon-to-be internationally acclaimed three-day eventing mount, Mermaid!
Faye Barry-Pavey and her amazing mare, Mermaid. Photo by Anthony Pavey.
As with most great riders, Barry-Pavey has been so focused on her riding she didn’t quite realize she would soon become an internet sensation. I came across her extraordinary cross-country round via social media and knew right away she and Mermaid were destined to become The Next Big Thing. Check it out:
In an exclusive interview, Barry-Pavey took time out from her hectic training regime to give us a little more information about her training methods and riding success.
Barry-Pavey began riding at an early age and worked her way up through the ranks as a professional groomer. She groomed in several disciplines, including hunt, polo, and eventing. “Partied hard; worked even harder; partied harder even more.”
Her skills as a professional groom were extraordinary and let to her top job as Second Groom to Zara Phillips Tindall. “I figured that was about the tops I could do,” so a few years ago she left the grueling travel schedule of professional groom life and transitioned into a new career as a caregiver in a care center for special needs adults. At the same time, she became mum to the lovely Isla and began passing on her love of riding to her daughter.
Mum Faye and daughter Isla riding a favorite pony.
Barry-Pavey evented her own beloved mount, Sunny, to top awards. Sunny was a homebred Connemara-Thoroughbred cross, and “a legend.”
Faye competing her beloved eventing partner, Sunny.
Tragically, she lost Sunny last year. Since then, she has been riding friends’ horses, focusing especially on a couple of young Connemara crosses to bring them along. That is, until the recent pandemic effectively grounded most equestrians in the UK, including Barry-Pavey. Sad to be grounded, and seeking to entertain herself and her family while self-quarantining in their home in Aberporth, Wales, UK (“the wet part,” she quips), Barry-Pavey came up with a wicked-good way to pass the time. “I saw the online competitions being posted, where you record a ride, send it in, and judges review and place them, and I thought – why not?”
Enter Mermaid, some household “jumps,” a tipple (or two) of gin* and a non-horsey husband who’s as game as they come.
*For the rider only; Mermaid was absolutely drug-free and FEI-compliant throughout the competition.
Like most eventers, Barry-Pavey prefers cross-country, yet she and Mermaid put in a very respectable “Prelim 7” dressage test at Aberporth:
Following the successful trot-up.
Mermaid was cleared for the stadium round!
Mermaid is a young mare, “feisty” and “quite testing on the course — it’s undulating ground.” As Barry-Pavey described the pair’s stadium round, “Mermaid doesn’t instinctively lock on to the fence; with Sunny, I could tell him which fence and he would just lock on and go. Mermaid needed a lot of encouragement over several of the fences; I’m surprised I didn’t get called out for excessive use of the whip . . . She can be a bit marish and has her own opinion. I have to work hard to ride her.”
Asked about her riding style for this particular course, Barry-Pavey is frank. “I had nerves — dreadful nerves. But I think, if I don’t have those nerves, then I don’t respect the fences and you have to respect the fences.” She was “glad that last fence did come apart; it wasn’t a pretty round, but – we’ve all got things to work on . . .”
Regarding Mermaid’s condition after the fall at the final fence, “I called my mum; we worked things out with homeopathy (no bute – FEI rules, you know), a lot of cold hosing, apples, carrots, coaxing and a bit of massage.”
When asked about what’s next for her and Mermaid, Barry-Pavey is optimistic. “Now that I have the videos of this competition, I’ll study them — I’ve got lots of homework to do. I’d like to show Mermaid’s versatility, so perhaps some polo, barrel racing and after that, maybe a bit of gymkhana. We’ll see how it goes.”
As with most equestrian events, sponsorship is a major key to success! Barry-Pavey wants to personally thank her sister Sarah’s company, NaturalAnimalShiP,** for sponsoring the Aberporth Horse TrAils 2020.
(** a correction to the sponsorship banner is noted, as it was originally posted as “NaturalAnimalShit”).
No matter what’s next in store for this dynamic duo #TeamMermaid, we at HorseNation are so delighted they shared their fun and giggles with all of us, especially now when we need all the positivity we can find!
Faye Barry-Pavey with her daughter Isla and husband Anthony.
Check out the Aberporth Horse TrAils 2020. It’s perhaps the only live competition in all of the United Kingdom in April 2020. #HistoryInTheMaking
Perhaps the only live competition in all of the UK during April 2020.
The Surefire Farm Horse Trials scheduled for September 25-27, 2020 in Purcellville, Virginia has been canceled.
The event released this statement:
“Surefire Eventing is looking forward to year 16 of our Spring Horse Trials, scheduled for June 19-21. Regretfully, however, we have made the decision to cancel our September event. Last year, with the Essex Horse Trials running the same weekend as our June Horse Trials, we were hurt financially to the point we were unable to carry our September event as we normally do. With so many events in Area II, as well as competition from Stable View in Area III, we’ve decided to focus on one event and put all our effort and resources into making the Surefire June Horse Trials as great as we can.”
Some folks are lucky enough to be able to use this extra time at home to spend with their families. (Or, if you’re not stuck with your family in-person, we’ve all become well-versed at Zoom by now!) William Fox Pitt is enjoying spending some time with his daughter, Alice, reading some of Tilly’s Pony Tails, Pippa Funnell’s children’s book series, with her. Oh, you didn’t know Pippa Funnell wrote a pony-centric series of children’s books? Well, check them on this blast from the past website!
Saturday Featured Video: Equestrians across all disciplines have been taking part in a charity effort known as Equestrian Relief, which benefits the UK’s National Health Service as they combat COVID-19 as teams of equestrians participate in challenges. Team Eventing took the lead in the Plankety Plank challenge, thanks largely in part to Oliver Townend who held a plank for THIRTEEN MINUTES. And you thought you had a strong core?
So our ‘new normal’ includes one-way systems and queues at the supermarket, McGyver-ed face masks and rubber gloves in situations that would normally never call for rubber gloves. It’s cool; we can cope with all this. But if you’re still able to ride, how do you deal with trying to maintain social distancing with your instructor? The German Instructor has a few ideas – although further testing may be needed, we suspect.
Worth the Trust at Kentucky in 1997. Photo by Brant Gamma.
If you are an amateur eventer who could use a little help funding your eventing education, consider applying for a USEA Worth The Trust scholarship.
About the Scholarship: New for this year, the Worth the Trust Young Adult and Adult Amateur Scholarships — previously awarded separately — have been consolidated into a single educational scholarship in the amount of $4,000. The scholarship can be applied toward a variety of training opportunities such as clinics, working student positions, and private or group instruction, or to learn from an official, course designer, technical delegate, judge, veterinarian, or organizer.
This scholarship is provided by Joan Iversen Goswell in honor of her horse, Worth the Trust, who won the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 1997 with Karen O’Connor.
Eligibility: The scholarship is available to riders 16 years old or older as of Jan. 1, 2021 who have declared amateur status with the USEA. Applicants must complete 10 hours of volunteer work with a national or local charitable organization, any minority/disadvantaged group, or local eventing association or horse trials.
How to Apply: Applicants should submit an essay explaining why the scholarship is important to him or her, how they intend to use the funds, and their riding and competing experiences. The deadline for applications is Oct. 5, 2020. Applications are available here.
The recipient of the scholarship will be announced at the 2020 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, Dec. 10-13, 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Contact Nancy Knight for more information at (703) 669-9997 or [email protected].
“After careful consideration Flora Lea has decided to cancel their spring horse trials, originally scheduled for May 23 & 24, 2020. It seems the responsible thing to do with the pandemic looming over all of our existences. Flora Lea has been running an USEA event since 1975 and has only cancelled one time, due to a ‘100 year flood’ that hit NJ. We hope that all is well by September and that we can be up and running our Fall horse trials.
“We will also cancel our June 21st YEH competition but will hope to run the August competition.
“Very sincerely and with regrets,
Debbie Adams”
You can view a complete list of canceled and postponed events here.
Gemma Tattersall is no stranger to spring five-stars – and she’ll be fighting for the virtual title this year. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
So we won’t have any five-stars to obsess over this spring, and you know what? It’s crap. It’s utter rubbish. It truly is. But you know what’s not crap? The fact that we’re all going to get to be a part of the eventing world’s creative revolution. Things might be very, very different from how they normally are right now, but our global eventing family isn’t going to take it lying down – and some of the ideas we’re seeing blooming around us are things we’ll be talking about for a long time to come. So instead of ruing what could have been, we’re going to embrace what will be. Top of our list? The first-ever virtual CCI5*, to be held May 6-10.
What is it?
The brainchild of Uptown Eventing’s Rachel Wakefield-Wynne, Virtual Eventing – sponsored by NAF – has been created with a few things in mind: to provide motivation for top riders stuck at home, to entertain the masses, and to raise much-needed funds for doctors and nurses around the world in the fight against COVID-19. In fact, every country represented in the virtual line-up will receive a charitable payout – and we hear that many of the riders are willing to accept bribes in exchange for donations.
The idea just got real, someone has donated £500.00 for time me to trot up in a outfit of your choice for Virtual 5*…
Well, just like the real deal, Virtual Eventing consists of three unique phases, plus a first horse inspection – but that, Rachel promises us, will be a trot-up like we’ve never seen before. On Thursday and Friday, competitors will ride the 5* B test for a judging panel made up of Annabel Scrimgeour, Les Smith, and Jane Tolley, while Saturday’s cross-country challenge will include a mysterious – and totally bonkers – set of challenges against the clock, in keeping with current recommendations to stay safe and avoid unnecessary risk. Finally, Sunday will see competitors tackling an unmounted showjumping course designed by an FEI course designer. All of the action will be live-streamed thanks to Chilli Pepper TV, bringing some classic insanity and fierce competition straight to your sofa. (And yes, we’ll be covering it all – you can’t keep EN away from an event!)
Ah, an emotional 20,000 word article on a virtual event. Good. So who’s entered, anyway?
Entries have now closed and currently look jam-packed with superstars representing eleven countries. Boyd Martin heads a trio of impressive US entries with his National Champ Tsetserleg, William Fox-Pitt, Gemma Tattersall, and Laura Collett – who will ride ultimate hunk London 52 – spearhead a strong British effort, and France’s Tom Carlile brings forward one of our top mare crushes, the nine-year-old Birmane. Meanwhile, the thunder is being well and truly BROUGHT from Down Under, with three Aussie entries and counting. Stay tuned for more entry list news and – of COURSE – a form guide for your pre-event perusal. Could we resist? Never.
585 men and women live and work on the backstretch of Belmont Park caring for the some 1,300 equine athletes who train and race there. At the time of writing, 20 of those faithful backstretch workers have thus far testing positive for COVID-19 and one, we are deeply sorry to hear, has passed away as a result of the virus.
While some racetracks have already had their meets cancelled and grounds vacated, such as fellow Empire State venue Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, which will be home to a 1,000-bed temporary hospital for the surge of COVID-19 patients expected this month, closing down Belmont Park isn’t as simple given the number of people who call it home. Stabling and training at Aqueduct, on the other hand, was already closed permanently as of January 1st of this year, whereas Belmont Park keeps a mostly year-round operation.
We’re happy to hear though, that the Belmont Park backstretch workers are getting some assistance from the The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation in the form of 1,000 donated face shields, which are produced by Kroop’s Brands. While Kroop’s normally makes goggles for racing and skydiving, they’ve converted their production to creating face shields to help address the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) at this time.
How can you help the racing industry? If you’ve got room for a new prospect, consider taking in one of these OTTBs:
What’s not to love about a five-year-old, 16.2-hand, beautifully built bay gelding? Perfect Joke is no joke — he ticks all the boxes for some of the most desired features in a event prospect. “Perry” is a laidback, easy-going goofball around barn and an athletic and engaged learner under saddle. What more could you want?
Quenlenny last raced in January 2019 and has only recently made his way to Second Stride. They’ve put him under saddle and found that he’s sound and ready for a new job in any discipline. Quenlenny has a great attitude and work ethic — a hallmark of his sire.
This CANTER-owned three-year-old looks like a super type and has a great brain as well. His last race was in January of this year, retiring sound and is even going barefoot currently. His CANTER caretakers and riders say he has a huge canter step and think he’ll make an excellent sport horse. He’s being offered at a steal of a deal for a quick sale right now, but his price will increase as his training continues.
