If by some small miracle you’ve missed all of our promotions, guest blogs and hype about the quickly approaching fantastic three-day at Fair Hill, then you need to get with the program! Never been to Fair Hill? You’re seriously missing out. Not only is it the last three-day on the east coast for the season, but it’s pretty much the first step for a lot of riders who are heading to Rolex in the spring, and thus serves as an excellent preview of the champions to come. Boyd calls it a “three-and-a-half-star”, and for good reason, too. The cross country is notoriously difficult, and completing is an accomplishment within itself. More often than not, the weather conditions are reminiscent of England, and by that I mean, cold, muddy and rainy. It takes a true Eventer gallop around that course and get through the finish flags.
[Fair Hill International Website] (If you’re a nerd like me, you’ll appreciate their new and much improved website)
My first experience of Fair Hill was grooming for Stuart Black in the CCI*** in 2006, and not only was it my first Fair Hill, but my first time grooming at a three-day. I remember taking pictures of the mud because it was so epic. I also remember trying to scheme of ways to get my horse through the infamous tunnel without getting her completely covered in mud. Spoiler: it was impossible, I ended up taking bathing supplies with me to the other side for the jogs. Sigh.
Planning a spectating trip? Check out the Overall Schedule of Events.
Jenni has got an amazing preview of all the entries coming up, with results and information on each horse and rider combination, but I thought I’d give you a visual aide, and show some pictures and videos from Fair Hills past.
This year, Fair Hill also has a blog, so you can watch this week as the preparations unfold for the horses and spectators alike. Not only is Fair Hill known for the competition, but the vendor village is second only to Rolex, and definitely worth the trip. [Fair Hill Blog]
Of course, we couldn’t finish a post like this without a Helmet Cam, and who better than Doug Payne to take this honor? This time it’s on his girlfriend Jess Hampf’s horse, High Society or “Trevor”, who is a tiny little beast who went around Rolex several times (including this year) with Jess, but was under Doug’s guidance last fall while Jess tried her hand at higher learning. This is the CCI*** from last year.
And of course, Buzzterbrown was on location last year to film the action from the ground! You just can’t beat some fabulous cross country riding! Start getting excited!!
