This photo comes to us by way of Carl Segal, who writes, “As you know, the USOC had a 100 day countdown to London featuring about 75 hopeful Olympians (including Buck representing eventing) and one retired U.S. National 4* Champion Eventing Horse, My Boy Bobby. You’re seeing Buck and Jessica Kiener leading Bobby back to the van… Bobby spent about two hours in Times Square right in the center of the activity including numerous Olympic Sport demos.” Just another day in the life of an event horse.
So, things are getting a little crazy here around Eventing Nation. Visionaire is gearing up for Rolex like Anderson Cooper heading into a war zone; John could use a CC or three of Ace; Samantha is skulking around the Kentucky Horse Park in dark sunglasses; Abby is trying on derby hats in front of her bedroom mirror; Annie is feverishly applying for new credit cards to max out at the trade fair; ESJ is feverishly applying sunscreen; Abbie is watching that Rolex commercial over and over again; and Coren is Facebook creeping hot four-star riders.
Myself, I’m deeply involved in the process of figuring out whether bunnies are allowed at Rolex–there currently aren’t any provisions in the rules. They’d be in a little buggy thing, you know, out of Jack Russell snacking range. Seriously, if anyone knows the answer to this, it may save me the trouble of putting little bonnets and swaddling clothes on them in an attempt to convince security that they’re babies.
Onto the news from Eventing Nation: where all the grooms are strong, all the horses are good-looking, and all the riders are above average.
This weekend’s event links:
Twin Rivers CIC/CCI [Website] [Times/Scores]
Fair Hill [Website] [Entry Status] [Times]
Redland Hunt PC [Website] [Times]
Horses in the Morning has got Rolex on the brain, too. Check out this morning’s show, Rolex Round-Table with Barb Crabo, Heather Morris and Deborah Rosen, for some entertaining and informative pre-game banter. [Horses in the Morning]
FLAIR will be sponsoring two course Rolex course walks. The first will be lead by Phillip Dutton, to be held on Thursday, April 26 at 4 p.m. It’s an abbreviated course walk focusing on four of the most difficult complexes on the course, and it will be limited to 50 participants. Participation credentials will be available on Thursday morning outside the Bit of Britain Tent between 10:30 and 1, prior to the course walk, from a FLAIR rep. The second course walk will cover the whole course and be lead in tandem by Eric Dierks and Ralph Hill. It meets at the startbox at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 27 and is open to the public. [FLAIR]
The popular helmet awareness campaign Riders4Helmets is celebrating its two-year anniversary with a monumental giveaway. Lucky equestrians could win one of 50 helmets, which have a combined value of about $10,000, or a new iPad3. Rolex visitors can stop by the Riders4Helmets area in the “old” indoor arena to register for the giveaway or can register online here. Registration closes at midnight ET on Sunday, May 6. [Riders4Helmets]
Vote for your favorite photo to grace the cover of the 2013 Burghley calendar. May we suggest a vote for: Claudette Mo’s fantastic photo of Boyd and Neville. [Burghley]
“The Hub” is a new initiative by the IOC that helps connects fans with their favorite athletes via social media. More than 1,000 verified Olympians have already joined the Hub, including dressage riders Carl Hester and Katarzyna Milczarek, showjumpers Laura Kraut, Eric Lamaze, and Nick Skelton, and eventers Mark Todd and Tim Lips. [Horse Talk]
Oliver Townend will be the first rider on course at this year’s Badminton, according to the recently published draw. He’s whittled his number of entries down from six to four. [Horse & Hound]
Oops: The San Francisco Chronicle writes, “An all-time record 73 race horses are registered to compete in this season’s Rolex Kentucky three-day event.” Good try, guys. [SFC]
Hot on Horse Nation: How much do you pay for lessons? [HN]
Top of the Tweets: From Lucinda Green (@LucindaGreenMBE), “Every time you ride, you’re either teaching or un-teaching your horse. –Gordon Wright”
Found on Facebook: A tribute to Amy in California, posted on the Facebook page of Sidelines Magazine. [Sidelines]
