Friday News & Notes from Kentucky Equine Research

Chinch has been kidnapped from the media center at Badminton. This is not a drill. He’s been chinchnapped. And this is not a joke: we have absolutely no idea who it is. However, the chinchnappers made a Twitter account @Kidnapped Chinch. You can keep track of him there and hope for the best outcome for our dearest naughty Chinch.

National Holiday: Bird Day

Major Events:

Badminton: WebsiteXC Start Times, Results, Schedule, How to Watch Live, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Form Guide, EN’s Instagram, EN’s Twitter

U.S. Weekend Preview:

MCTA H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Heart of the Carolinas 3DE & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Poplar Place Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

The Event at Skyline H.T. [Website]

News From Around the Globe:

Middleburg Horse Trials are moving to Great Meadow and the local Pony Club is raising funds to build a new water jump at the venue. How can you help? Ride a Fix-A-Round with Lynn Symansky and/or a Fix-A-Test with Lauren Sprieser on May 22 in the spectacular main arena at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia. [Clinic Details]

Fashion on the jog strip at Badminton is legendary, but how do the riders choose what to wear? Sarah Skillin of EquiConsulting explains how she works with the riders to help them make the right impression at the world’s biggest event. [Making an impression on the runway at Badminton]

USEA Area Young Rider programs are in full fundraising mode for the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC). How can you help them raise the funds needed to travel to The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana? [Young Rider Fundraisers for 2018 NAYC]

Kirsty Short is making her Badminton debut with Cossan Lad and blogging all about the experience. Go behind the scenes as Kirsty talks all about her Thursday at Badminton and walking Eric Winter’s cross country course. [Bouncer Has Been Showing Off]

Let’s get to know Genesee Valley Hunt Horse Trials! Held annually in Genesee, New York in Area I in mid-June, the event offers Introductory through Preliminary levels. [USEA Events A-Z: Genesee Valley Hunt Horse Trials]

Schramm Sesh of the Week

Jimmie and Dom Schramm have teamed up with Kentucky Equine Research to provide an inside look into their conditioning program using KER ClockIt Sport. Each week we’ll share an example ride and some notes of what the Schramms look for as their horses progress.

This week, Jimmie takes Eclaire, a seven-year-old German sport horse, through her fourth preliminary outing. She starts with a short warm up then continues into her course. This session is Eclaire’s first cross-country of the year with hills.

“As you can see it really pushed her into high percentage zones for her heart rate, especially towards the end of the course, which to me means she needs to be a bit fitter on the hills,” explains Jimmie.

Eclaire’s speed drops between 366 m/min and 400 m/min through the combinations on course. Making this adjustment more quickly is something Jimmie has been working on with her.

“When it takes a longer time to get her back to a combination-type canter, I end up having time faults,” Jimmie explains. “It is good for me to see where time is being wasted.”

“I wish I’d left ClockIt running for a bit longer to see how long it took her to get back to a resting heart rate, but it was a warmer day and we were looking to cool her out quickly and get her tack off.”

Check back next week for another Schramm Sesh! Want to gain insight into your horse’s fitness? Try KER ClockIt Sport. The free app helps take the guesswork out of equine fitness by monitoring heart rate, speed, distance and altitude during rides.