This baby also represents Eric Lamaze right now
Unless you’ve been completely ignoring the Olympic Showjumping that ended yesterday, you’ll know about the entire tragedy and controversy surrounding the disqualification of Tiffany Foster’s horse Victor on Sunday. Eric Lamaze wins the headline for today’s news for me because his proclamations and outrage at the decision made by the FEI have resulted in the fastest reaction I have ever seen from a national equestrian organization.
Here’s the jist. On Sunday August 5th, Tiffany Foster’s horse Victor was disqualified under the FEI rules for hypersensitivity, stating that “the horse was simply too sensitive on that limb to continue on, and so for the well being of the horse and the safety of the rules…”. At the press conference, Lamaze called the decision “a complete miscarriage of justice“, and was generally publicly outraged. Tuesday August 7th, Lamaze released a statement indicating that “he would not compete on future Canadian teams, … until Equine Canada took a stronger and more supportive stance on Foster’s disqualification“. People everywhere are in a bit of an uproar. Yesterday, there was a clarification release on the part of Equine Canada that mentioned the desire for further review of FEI protocol. [COTH Overview]
Abby will be along later today to illuminate all there is to know about Foster-gate (too soon?). I just gotta say, way to go Eric Lamaze. You da man.
ANYWAY….Upcoming Events:
Fair Hill International: [Website] [Entry Status]
GMHA T3D Event & N3D Event Test: [Website] [Live Scores]
GMHA August HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
Stanton Farms HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
Hunters Run HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
Otter Creek Summer HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
The Summer Event at Woodside: [Website] [Entry Status]
Colorado Horse Park HT: [Website]
The Rest of Your News:
Just as a tiny bit more about the Canada/Foster controversy, here’s a really worthwhile, well written piece by Akaash Maharaj, former CEO of Equine Canada. In short, “By wrapping indefensible decisions in the false flag of horse welfare, the FEI has done more than wrong individual athletes. It has brought its commitment to horse welfare into disrepute, and demonstrated a willingness to make its most important rules the enemies of the most basic standards of justice.” [Akaash Maharaj and Eric Lamaze are on the same page]
Olympic Showjumping Individual Final: What The Riders Say
Riders4Helmets brings us a video on the amazing Jan Byyny, who only 18 months after a horrible accident which caused her to have a stroke and resulted in her loss of ability to speak and use the right side of her body, is back on the Olympic track. She was fully back on form this spring, and has her eyes set on Normandy 2014 and Rio 2016. [Watch Jan Byyny Here]
Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat wins Showjumping Individual Gold, breaks the British and German stranglehold on everything equestrian. [Guerdat Shows ‘Em Where It’s At]
Keep in touch with Camilla Speirs and Portersize Just A Jiff through her Camilla Speirs Facebook Page. Jiff is still in Newmarket, and Camilla is travelling up and down every day to visit him, keep your fingers crossed that all is well with him.
Ian Millar shares a little something that one learns when one has competed at 10 Olympic Games……holy crap?? TEN??? Wow that guy is seriously ridiculous. Also, he claims none of the same athlete-identification issues that plagued Mark Todd (9 years his junior!). [Ian Millar compares London 2012 to Munich 1972]
P.S. Ian Millar rode Star Power to 9th place yesterday in the Individual Showjumping Final. No big deal, it’s just his 10th Olympic Games and his best ever individual result. [Ian Millar is Like a Fine Wine]
Fasig-Tipton had a strong sale at Saratoga last night. Check out the yearling thoroughbreds that were sold (mostly, check out those price tags, and go kiss your OTTB). Top price was $1.57 million for a Medaglia D’Oro baby bought by Todd Pletcher. [Fasig-Tipton Sales Sheet]
The Brits are really excited about their equestrian performances on home-turf, so they’ve immortalized the Gold Medal Dressage and Jumping teams on postage. That’s right, stamps. What I want to know is, where is the Eventing Team!!??? What, you’re too good for silver now, Team GB??? [Britain’s Olympic Winning Equestrian Teams Can Be Licked]
This really shocked me, and fair warning, it has a pretty graphic video, but there is an annual event in Washington State called the Omak Suicide Race. In this race, horses are forced to run at full gallop down a 210 foot long bank on a 60-degree slope. The animals must then cross the Okanogan River, during which they may go under, it says. Its banks are also covered in rocks and debris. Usually in the middle of the night. Unsurprisingly, horses and humans keep getting fatally injured at this event. Why. In. The. World. ! [Humane Society Has Got It Right]
Check out SmartPak’s videos from the Dressage victory lap. Those giant Dressage horses were having NONE of that applause and yelling and cheering and hoopla. I bet every one of those riders was blessing their double bridles in that moment. [The Pak Across the Pond]
This video is labelled incorrectly, because it is in fact Lee McKeever, Antares F’s groom watching McLain Ward in London, but I got my mom to do the Dutch translation and this is it:
I ride and jump. I use all my powers on my horse. Sometimes my stallion is hesitant and then I must use the whip. Then he jumps with certainty, even higher. It is the horse alone , not I ,who is doing this. I want control but have almost no control. I must stay consistent until the end. I don’t want to forget anything. Once more between my legs , over the last jump….Nothing can stop me from the supreme moment.
http://youtu.be/mEHiMx98wdQ
