Classic Eventing Nation

Sunday Links from One K Helmets

By on Nov 3, 2019 12:01 am -

Halloween may be over, but equestrians have one more horror to face: the end of Daylight Saving Time. We’ve officially “fallen back,” and while the additional hour of sleep is nice, it now means the sun will set one hour earlier as the days get shorter. Tears, so many tears.

National Holiday: Daylight Saving Day

Major Weekend Events:

Galway Downs 3DE & H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

U.S. Weekend Action:

Virginia 3DE & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Rocking Horse H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Full Gallop H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Sunday Links: 

USEA Horse of the Month: Excel Star Time to Shine

Tucker Billeter and Bill’s Midnight Magic Maintain the Lead in the Hylofit USEA Classic Series Training Three-Day at Galway Downs

Ride Between the Flags with Deborah Rosen

How To Do No Stirrup November The Right Way (And Keep Your Horse’s Back Happy)

5 Things A Physiotherapist Wants You To Know About Horse And Rider Health

BE: Cost of eventing to rise as more membership options considered

Sunday Video: 

Saturday Video Break: Fair Hill Highlight Reel + On Demand Viewing

By on Nov 2, 2019 3:30 pm -


If you missed out on any of the action at last month’s Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International, you’re in luck! You can now rewatch the coverage from USEF Network on demand to your heart’s content.

Current US Equestrian members can view the coverage for free — and if you aren’t a member, you’re still in luck! You can use code “FAIRHILL19” to receive a free Fan membership to view all coverage available on the USEF Network.

You can also relive EN’s coverage here. Go eventing!

Kendal Lehari Takes First Round of the Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge at The Royal

By on Nov 2, 2019 1:30 pm -

Kendal Lehari and Totally Frank. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography

It was all about beating the clock in last night’s first round of the Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, Ontario. Tackling an intense course with both show jumping and cross country questions, Kendal and her own 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, Totally Frank, were the fastest under the wire with a time of 87.76 seconds. This time was enough to secure them the win in the first round by nearly a full second over second placed Brandon McMechan and Oscar’s Wild, who finished with a time of 88.57. Canadian Pan American Games team member Karl Slezak and Fernhill Wishes were third on a time of 89.71.


A total of 10 horses completed the first round of competition, and 11 will come forward to today’s final round.

RAWF Schedule and Results

Whitney Tucker-Billeter Holds T3D Lead, David Koss Takes Control of CCI2*-L at Galway Downs

By on Nov 2, 2019 9:54 am -

Whitney Tucker-Billeter and Bill’s Midnight Magic. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Whitney Tucker Billeter and Bill’s Midnight Magic held their lead in the Hylofit USEA Classic Series Training Three Day today at the Galway Downs International. It was the 15-year-old Hanoverian’s first Training Three Day and he “was awesome,” said Billeter.

Of the cross-country track that concluded the full endurance day’s four phases, Billeter said the horse’s ample experience in other divisions left her not overly worried about anything except “getting my lines right to everything.” That she did, moving onto Saturday’s show jumping conclusion, when she’ll have to leave all the rails up to nail down the win.

Rebecca Braitling and Galwaybay Merbantos. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Those in closest pursuit of the win changed slightly. Canadian pair Jennifer Miller and the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood Bon Bon sit second on a 28.30. Australia’s Rebecca Braitling and Galwaybay Merbantos, a 7-year-old Irish Sporthorse, also incurred no penalties to move into third on their 28.90 dressage score. Lauren Billys, who rides for Puerto Rico, and the 6-year-old Dutch Warmblood Twilight 54 are very close behind on thier 29.00

Brailting and Billys are both big fans of the Classic format for its ability to prepare and test horses’ readiness for the higher levels.

Brailting said she was right to predict that the T3D format would benefit Galwaybay Merbantos. “Today he was the fastest he’s ever been around cross-country and also the most relaxed. He’s a horse that we think will go up the levels and this format teaches him how to really move across the ground, to recover, and go out again the next day.”

Lauren Billys and Twilight 54. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Billys recalled competing in her first T3D 13 years ago and she has since entered every horse possible in the division. Today’s partner arrived with the help of the Twilight 54 Syndicate in March, and he came straight from the show jumping world.

“The T3D is so educational for him because cross-country is the phase he has the least experience with,” Billys said. “Doing the steeplechase, touring the grounds, he was definitely more focused on cross-country and I could feel his confidence building as he went around. Which is the whole reason we did it.” She’s experienced the same benefits in all the horses she has run in the division. Among other things, “It tells me if they have the gallop,” she explained. “Do they have it, can they sustain it over the distance and do they need to improve it?”

“He may be the best moving horse I’ve ever sat on,” the 2016 Olympian continued of her newest horse. ‘He’s incredibly athletic and super well balanced. Even though he’s a big horse (17 HH at last check), he doesn’t ride like one.”

Billys anticipates Saturday’s show jumping will be another educational lesson. Even though “Ned” came from the jumping world, “He’s changed a lot since I got him. The goal tomorrow is to gain a better partnership with him and see how he responds after today’s work.”

Stunner Sets the Pace after 2* Dressage

David Koss and Stunner. Photo by Kim Miller.

The day dawned in the 30s and hit the 80s before the 46-horse 2* field was finished. David Kos and the 6-year-old Hanoverian Stunner led the day on a 25.80. Junior rider Jordan Crabo and veteran eventer Over Easy, the 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare, are second on a 27.70. Olivia Loiacono-Putrino and the 8-year-old German Sporthorse Under the Spotlight are third, barely behind them on a 27.90.

Jordan Crabo and Over Easy. Photo by Kim Miller.

The standings through #10 are tight, so anything can happen over the weekend. Saturday, they tackle a track designed by Canada’s Jay Hambly and Galway Downs builder Bert Wood, then Sunday it’s show jumping in the Grand Prix Arena on a course designed by Marc Donovan and assistant Kelly James, both of the USA.

Olivia Loiacono-Putrino and Under the Spotlight. Photo by Kim Miller.

The Galway Downs Equestrian Center is located in the heart of Southern California’s Temecula Wine Country. There, beautiful but wild weather provided a good test for new show horse housing: Clayton Frederick’s FEI-Stabling. Exhibitors were grateful the ClearSpan covered barns withstood strong winds Wednesday and Thursday, then provided shade from Friday’s searing sun and plenty of circulation. The larger stalls are a hit with horses and their keepers and received rave views as the latest of ongoing upgrades to the competition facilities on the 240-acre property.

Beautiful new FEI Stabling barns at Galway Downs. Photo by Kim Miller.

Saturday’s FEI cross-country action will be enhanced with live music, local craft beers and adult beverages from Galway Spirts Distillery, enjoyed from on-course, tented oasis spots. The first 3* rider leaves the start box 10:05, 4* follows at 11:05 and 2* at 11:50. National division show jumping plays out all day, and the Training Three Day wraps up with stadium jumping in the late afternoon.

Big thanks to major event sponsors Devoucoux, California Horsetrader, CWD and Parker Equine Insurance.

Galway Downs 3DE & H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

How to Use a Mounting Block to Stretch and Strengthen Your Calves

By on Nov 2, 2019 9:00 am -

As riders we tend to have strong calf muscles; however, just because they are strong does not always mean they are functioning properly. Our calves serve as the heart of the lower body — the two main muscles in the lower leg, the gastrocnemius and the soleus, assist the cardiovascular system in pumping blood back up to the heart with each step. This is part of the reason you are encouraged to get up and walk around on long flights.

I commonly encounter riders who suffer from overly tight calves that has a profound impact on the galloping position, as well as common human lameness like plantar fasciitis. As humans we should pay as much attention to stretching our calves as we do our hamstrings.

For this exercise you will need a step or a solid mounting block. 

  • Place the ball of your foot on the step, place your hand on a railing or a wall to steady yourself. (This is not the place to add balance work in as bouncing, hopping and sudden movements will increase your chance of injury.)
  • Drop your heels down toward the floor. At the bottom of the range of motion hold that static position for five seconds.  

Jaclyn Burke of Burke Equestrian demonstrates a calf stretch. Photo by Laura Crump Anderson.

  • Next with your hand supporting you on the wall, slowly rise up pressing your toes into the step and contracting in your calves. Go for your full range of motion — this will be different for everyone.

Jaclyn Burke of Burke Equestrian demonstrates a calf raise. Photo by Laura Crump Anderson.

 

  • Complete this exercise for two minutes and you will be feeling quite the burn in your lower leg and possibly your glutes and hamstrings. 
  • Finish by holding the start position for at least 30 seconds.

Jaclyn Burke is one of my idols and time management gurus. The amount of things she can accomplish in a day is second to none. Jaclyn owns and operates Burke Equestrian out of Hablyn Hills Equestrian Center in the heart of Area II. Jaclyn specialize in bringing OTTBs up through the levels and she has competed at the CCI3*-L level, with goals and plans to get back with her talented string of three competition horses. 

As if running and managing a success competition, training and lesson program were not enough, she also has a full-time job at Workday, a software company that helps businesses optimize the back office processes. For Jaclyn hacks are often filled with phone calls but when she gets down to riding and teaching she strives to be 100% present in the moment. Even with her extremely busy schedule she makes the time to prioritize her own fitness as she can feel the difference when exercise moves onto the back burner. 

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. 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.

Saturday Links from Nupafeed USA

By on Nov 2, 2019 12:01 am -

I hear folks mention venues like Bromont and Rebecca Farm as bucket list events that they want to compete or spectate at someday and, don’t get me wrong, those are amazing places that I want to go also, but high up on my list of places as well is actually The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

Now, now … I know it’s an indoor event and not a real horse trials, but I’m a real sucker for a fair and the more agricultural the better! The Royal really sounds like just my kind of place. I can completely do without a midway full of cacophonous and rickety steel rides and carnies hawking cheap prizes — give me some horses to watch, some baby goats to pet, some maple syrup to sample and my week will be made!

We’ll be keeping our eye on The Royal’s indoor eventing this weekend as well as Galway Downs International. Stay tuned!

National Holiday: National Deviled Egg Day

Major Weekend Events:

Galway Downs 3DE & H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

U.S. Weekend Action:

Virginia 3DE & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Rocking Horse H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Full Gallop H.T. [Website]  [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Saturday Links:

Tucker Billeter and Bill’s Midnight Magic Maintain the Lead in the Hylofit USEA Classic Series Training Three-Day at Galway Downs

How To Do No Stirrup November The Right Way (And Keep Your Horse’s Back Happy)

Charlotte Dujardin beats world number one to win World Cup grand prix

Can Horses Eat Pumpkin?

Saturday Video: But seriously, tell me you wouldn’t want to go watch the Royal Canadian Mounted Police perform.

Jennings & Spoltore Take Charge of USEF Two-Star National Championships at VHT International

By on Nov 1, 2019 7:17 pm -

On a brisk morning in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the first horses started down centerline Friday at the Virginia Horse Trials (VHT) International. Following the first phase of competition, Australia’s Ryan Wood and USA’s Jane Jennings are tied for the lead in the CCI2*-LA division on a score of 29.5.

Ryan Wood and Ruby, tied for lead in CCI2*-LA. Photo by Brant Gamma.

Wood is riding Ruby, a 10-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Summit Sporthorses Ltd, Inc. The pair won this same division last year and also won the CCI2*-S last spring at The Fork at Tryon.

“She’s feeling great. She pulled out a cracking test today,” Wood said. “I’m excited for her owner and breeder Ilona English, who stuck with this horse and believed in her since she was a foal. She won the two-star here last year and her brother Powell also won the two-star here [in 2014]. She’s from New Jersey but she’s bred a bunch of Virginia winners.”

Cross country course designer Carsten Meyer has set a testing two-star track for Saturday. On the rolling hills of the Virginia Horse Center, endurance plays a heavy role.

“We’ve been doing a lot of fitness, thankfully, because it’s a serious track out there for the two-star. There is lots of terrain and it’s a long course at 7 minutes, 38 seconds,” Wood said. “Ruby is a really honest jumper and she’s seasoned at the level. We’re looking forward to getting out there tomorrow.”

Jane Jennings and Kontessa M, tied for lead in CCI2*-LA. Photo by Brant Gamma.

Jennings and Kontessa M are fresh off a win at Morven Park’s CCI2*-S. As the highest placed American rider in the CCI2*-LA division, she and the 9-year-old Oldenburg mare currently lead the USEF Two-Star Eventing National Championship.

Francesca Spoltore and Millstreet Mitch, leading the CCI2*-LB. Photo by Brant Gamma.

Leading the way in the CCI2*-LB division and in the hunt for the USEF National Two-Star JR/YR Championship is Francesca Spoltore with Millstreet Mitch. With a leading score of 31.4, Spoltore, 19, and her 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding got a positive start to their first international competition as a pair.

“He was really super today. He’s really trained on the flat. It’s been me learning how to get the perfect test out of him,” Spoltore said. “That’s probably the best test he’s had. I was able to get him uphill and he grew a lot in there.”

Spoltore and “Mitch” partnered only four months ago. He arrived at her trainer Alex Green’s barn to be sold and he was the perfect fit to help Spoltore gain competition miles at the level. The plan for tomorrow’s cross country is to try and stay up on the minute markers early.

“I’m not super fast on the cross country, especially since I don’t know him that well. The times I have run him I’ve just been learning how to ride him,” Spoltore said. “I’m hoping I can go quick tomorrow. It’s a very long course and the terrain here guts them a little bit by the end.”

The CCI3*-L also has a tie for the top spot after dressage. Woods Baughman and the 10-year-old Masterel, a Thoroughbred owned by Denis Glaccum and Sharon White, sit in equal first on a score of 32.1 with John Michael Durr and Becky Brown’s 13-year-old CDE, Tilikum.

Mikki Kuchta and Special Reserve, leading the CCI1*-L. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Earning the best dressage score to lead the inaugural VHT CCI1*-L are Mikki Kuchta and Special Reserve. They scored a 29.7, a solid start to the 6-year-old Thoroughbred’s first international competition.

The remainder of the national horse trials divisions, from Modified all the way to Starter, will begin their competition Saturday while the international combinations tackle cross country.

[Jane Jennings and Francesca Spoltore Take Charge of USEF Two-Star Eventing National Championships at VHT International]

Virginia 3DE & H.T.: Website, Entry Status, Ride Times, Live Scores

Friday Video from SmartPak: Lucinda Green Swaps Saddles

By on Nov 1, 2019 5:00 pm -

Petplan rider challenge

In this new Petplan Equine film, top riders Charlie Hutton and Lucinda Green swap disciplines. Find out how Lucinda gets on riding piaffe and tempi changes while Charlie finds his feet with angles and skinny fences…

Posted by Horse & Hound on Friday, November 1, 2019

What happens when Grand Prix dressage rider Charlie Hutton and veritable eventing legend Lucinda Green swap disciplines? Rather a lot of infuriating brilliance, you’ll be unsurprised to find. But we’re huge fans of some of the key takeaways of today’s video, which features each rider helping the other get to grips with a slightly alien discipline – there’s plenty that even the most hardened of us can learn from watching (although we recommend pouring yourself a glass of wine first, to numb the pain of seeing Hutton’s absolutely faultless form over a line of fences.)

Have you tried a temporary discipline swap? Did it lead to a revelation for your riding? Let us know in the comments!

This Week in Horse Health News Presented by MediVet Equine

By on Nov 1, 2019 3:00 pm -

As horse owners and competitors, we want to give our equine athletes every opportunity to feel and perform their best. Keeping up to date with the latest news in horse health and medicine is an important part of that, and it’s why Medivet Equine is bringing you the latest in horse health news each week.

Following the medical model of “do no harm,” MediVet Equine develops scientifically based therapeutics enabling the horse to call on its own healing ability, thus achieving its full performance potential. MediVet Equine provides effective, all natural, drug free products and lab services designed to optimize the overall health of performance horses. They specialize in regenerative treatments that help the body heal itself to get stronger naturally. Boyd Martin has several of his top competitive mounts on MediVet ACS, and has had terrific results!

This Week in Horse Health News …

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a CT scanner that can be used on standing sedated horses. The machine can be used to scan a horse’s leg while standing, unlike a conventional CT machine which requires a horse to be under general anesthesia and recumbent. This makes the scan, which can be more advantageous than x-rays, a much more accessible and feasible option for horse owners and veterinarians alike. This scanner can also be set in a horizontal position and be used to scan a sedated horse’s head and neck as well. [BloodHorse]

You get your horse’s teeth regularly floated, but do you really understand why? When it comes to understanding why those hooks have to get filed down, it helps to understand the anatomy of the horse’s teeth and how they chew. Dr. James Brown, Clinical Associate Professor of Equine Surgery at Virginia Tech, explains why horses’ teeth grow like they do, what dental issues can arise, and how taking care of them will improve their welfare. [USEA]

Chia seeds: you put them in your smoothie, but what about in your horse’s feeds? Dr. Juliet Getty believes they can be a helpful supplement to a horse’s diet. Chia seeds are best known for being high in Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and they are present in a similar ratios as in pasture grasses. There are a host of potential benefits that mainly stem from promoting a healthy immune response and lessening inflammation (which MediVet ACS can help with too!) in the body. [HorseTalk]