FLAIR Nasal Strips rider Charlotte Agnew at Badminton 2013 aboard Out of Africa II. Photo courtesy of FLAIR.
Good morning and happy beginning of your Labor Day weekend! Personally, I am mainly excited because this weekend heralds the return of college football. As a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan, I am on the edge of my seat for their season opener tomorrow. Meanwhile, my NFL-favoring boyfriend has to wait until next week for his precious Kansas City Chiefs to start their regular season; doesn’t he know the term “ladies first”?
There is a lot of activity this weekend on the European front. FLAIR Nasal Strips rider Charlotte Agnew will be applying FREE strips Sunday to horses at the Keysoe Horse Trials in Bedford, England. Speaking of which, FLAIR has announced its continued sponsorship of the American Eventing Championships. For all of you AEC competitors, make sure to check your competitor bags when you check in for your FREE FLAIR Nasal Strip! FLAIR will also be donating prizes for winners, so there are plenty of goods up for grabs this year down in Texas.
The European Eventing Championships in Malmö, Sweden, continue dressage today. The second day of dressage competition kicks off at 10 a.m. local time (don’t worry, you’ll probably still be asleep). Currently, Ingrid Klimke and FRH Escada JS sit atop the leaderboard, followed by Niklas Lindback and Mister Pooh in second and Dirk Schrade and Hop and Skip in third. Look for William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning, defending champion Ze Terminator Michael Jung and Halunke FBW, and many others to challenge the leaderboard today.
European Championships Links: [Malmö Eventing Website] [FEI TV] [Malmo XC Course Walk]
Events This Weekend:
KY Classique HT: [Website] [Ride Times]
Town Hill Farm Horse Trials: [Website] [Ride Times] [Entry Status]
Steepleview Labor Day Horse Trials: [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Fall HT:[Website] [Entry Status/Times] [Live Scores]
Corona Del Sol HT: [Entry Status/Times] [Live Scores]
Chattahoochee Hills HT:[Website] [Entry Status] [Live Scores]
Stanton Farms HT: [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Silverwood Farm Fall HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
Your Friday News:
Contest alert! FLAIR Nasal Strips has announced its Eventers Win Big With FLAIR Contest, which will run through Oct. 31. A total of $250 is up for grabs for riders who can secure back-to-back wins while using their ever-so-helpful FLAIR Nasal Strips during both cross country and stadium. If you can win back-to-back horse trials, you get mad props from me, and now you can have some extra cash in your pocket too! [Eventers Win Big With FLAIR]
While we’re on the topic of awesome contests, time is almost up to enter SmartPark’s $5,000 shopping spree. I have a list compiled of all of the items, both necessary and frivolous, that I would buy if I were to win, as I’m sure you do as well. Once you realize that $5,000 can get you fairly far, even with horse items, that should be motivation enough to enter! [Enter the SmartPak Shopping Spree]
Did you know that about 60 percent of horses suffer from gastric ulcers? Neither did I. A lot of factors can affect a horse’s risk for ulcers, and symptoms can include poor appetite, teeth grinding and diarrhea, among others. With treatment, symptoms often start to ease up after a couple of days, and there are many different ways to both treat and prevent ulcers. SmartPak posted a quiz to help you determine your horse’s risk factor. [SmartPak: Is Your Horse At Risk?]
German rider Guenter Wamser undertook a very ambitious quest 20 years ago to ride across the Americas. Yes, that’s right — THE Americas. He began in Patagonia, which is about as far south as you can go in South America, and has covered over 15,000 miles on horseback as he makes his way towards the northernmost tip of North America. His journey is nearing an end, and it’s been quite an epic one to read about. [Crossing the Americas on Horseback]
My version of Disney World — the Kentucky Horse Park — has received the top award in the Amusement Parks and Water Parks category of TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards for 2013. We already knew that the Kentucky Horse Park is the epicenter of all things horses here in the U.S., but now it’s public knowledge. [KHP Wins TripAdvisor Award]
Vetericyn has announced its yearly charity giveaway, where a non-profit organization can win a year’s supply of Vetericyn wound and skin care products. This giveaway benefits non-profit organizations that are nominated on the company’s website. There is both a large-animal and small-animal organization category. If you know of an organization that could benefit from this giveaway, nominations begin Sept. 1 and voting will take place Oct. 2-30. [Vetricyn Loves Animals]
How selective are you about your fly spray? I use my fly spray as my own personal bug repellent as well as my horse’s, so I try to find a good one that works for both of us. I boarded at a barn for a couple of years that had terrible mosquitoes — to no fault of their own — and so I went through God knows how many brands trying to find the perfect fly spray. I’ll be honest; I still haven’t found The One. Hossjudge’s blog has some tips on what to avoid and what to be aware of as you peruse the tack store/SmartPak website for the best evil fly/mosquito/horsefly/etc. repellent. [What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You!]
Best of the Blogs: Boyd Martin recaps Day 2 of the George Morris Clinic at Windurra Farm
Your Friday Video Break:
In honor of it being so painfully close to football season, I introduce you to War Paint, one of the mascots for the Kansas City Chiefs. Ever since I saw this little horse’s nonchalant attitude about the (VERY) loud crowd, I’ve been trying to hatch a plan to steal him and make him live in my backyard. Here’s a little sample of his job:
