Behind every awesome Mom rider are her equally awesome kids! Cassie Rutledge cheers on her Mom, Colleen Rutledge, and Shiraz, in this afternoon's Dressage session. Photo courtesy of Mary Getsey Bernier.
What a whirlwind week it’s been so far! I don’t know about you, but I don’t know that I could ever get enough Rolex coverage. The chinchillas are working overtime to bring you as much coverage as you can possibly handle, and John is here to ensure that the chinchilla cages are kept clean so that they can focus on their work.
It was an exciting day of dressage yesterday, and as of the end of competition yesterday three U.S. riders found themselves atop the leaderboard. Michael Pollard, Will Faudree, and Doug Payne lead the pack after throwing down some seriously wonderful tests. While Doug is likely wishing he could run cross country on Sunday, he plans to withdraw Tali since he received a Land Rover grant to compete in the Saumur CCI3* next month. There are plenty of heavy hitters still to come today, though, so keep your eyes peeled for some shifts on the board as the final day of dressage runs its course.
[RK3DE Website] [Event Schedule] [Ride Times] [Official Facebook Page]
Weekend Preview:
Fresno County Horse Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Times]
Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]
University of New Hampshire Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]
Friday News:
Don’t forget about the pure awesome that will be the EN Tailgate tomorrow! Chill with the chinchillas! Stop by our primo tailgate spot #89 and join us and our Tredstep friends as we raise a glass (and a cookie cake or two!) to celebrate the best day of the year! Free refreshments, EN swag, and chances to win great Tredstep prizes. Look for the insanity in the middle of the tailgate flagged like a cross country jump.
You might not be able to win a Rolex, but there’s a whole lotta loot here at EN waiting for you to take it home. We’ve got giveaway contests coming out the wazoo here at EN headquarters, and we’re taking notes from Oprah. If you want to win some Dubarry boots, SmartPak pants, a Point Two airvest or a ton of Omega Alpha supplements, you better check out our comprehensive giveaway page! [Enter Contests — Win Big]
Keep your eyes on exclusive official scoreboard for the Dubarry of Ireland Nations Team Challenge, as countries vie for $20,000 of bonus money to help them head to WEG. This is a new program this year, and it promises to be exciting [Dubarry of Ireland Nations Team Challenge]
FLAIR Nasal Strips has announced a new award for Rolex this year. The annual award, called the “FLAIR Protect & Perform Award” will be awarded to the highest place horse and rider pair who use a FLAIR strip during both cross country and stadium. For more information on FLAIR strips and the numerous benefits they offer, click here.
FLAIR has also announced its sponsorship of a cross country course walk at Rolex this year. The walk will be led by Ralph Hill, with participation from FLAIR riders Buck Davidson and Hawley Bennett. The walk is slated to commence approximately 30 minutes after conclusion of dressage competition on Friday April 25. Be sure to check the FLAIR website and Facebook page for more details. [FLAIR Website] [Facebook Page]
Silva Martin has posted an update on her blog about her recovery. Silva remarks that she is recovering quickly, and while she has trouble keeping her eyes open still her doctor is still optimistic on her full recovery. She is able to get out to the barn to keep tabs on her horses being kept in work by her students, and right now the outlook is looking quite positive for Silva even though she is taking it slow. [Silva Recovery Update]
Andrew Nicholson is not happy about the Jock Paget scandal. Using more than one choice word, Nicholson expressed his frustration with the situation recently. He believes that the media are spinning the story incorrectly, and that Jock’s cause was a lost one from the start. [Nicholson Unhappy]
Silva Martin made some comments on Trading Aces’ dressage test with Phillip yesterday. Oscar is sitting in 8th place right now on a score of 52.5. Silva has been observing Phillip and Oscar’s short time together and was pleased with how their test yesterday went. [Silva’s Thoughts on Trading Aces]
British Olympian Ben Maher’s ride Tripple X has been sold to Canada’s Eric Lamaze. Tripple X was part of the gold medal winning British show jumping team at the London Olympics in 2012, so the move is all at once a big blow to the British team and a huge gain for team Canada. [Tripple X Sold]
Friday Video Break:
