Recognise that handsome little face?! Yes, that is none other than a baby faced London 52 – you know the one, multiple 5* title holder and Olympic gold medal winning partner of the incredible Miss Laura Collett. The two of them are back in action at the Thoresby Spring Carnival of Eventing this weekend – keep up with all of the action over at H&C. There’s a whole slew of top names in the CCI4*-S, so it will be a very exciting weekend indeed, come rain or shine!
OR if you’re (West) Stateside, and want to go and see some actual real live action, why not head on down to Galway Downs or the Event at Terranova? At the former you will catch sight of last year’s Kentucky winners Tamie Smith, while at the latter
US based Kiwi Monica Spencer is giving Artist a pipe opener ahead of their run around the 5* at Kentucky.
The International eventing season is really starting to hot up now, with entry lists for both Badminton and Kentucky released – I think I might have to go and have a little lie down, such is my excitement at it all!
U.S. Weekend Preview
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
Galway Downs International H.T. (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring] [Live Stream]
Jumping Branch Farm Spring H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Morven Park Spring H.T. (Leesburg, VA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Live Stream]
International Events
BEDE Events’ Thoresby Eventing Spring Carnival (UK) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Live Stream]
Friday News and Reading
When the entry list for Badminton was released on Monday, I had SO many thoughts on it all – so many first timers, so many exciting combinations, a few notable omissions (Lordships Graffalo, where art thou?!) and just SO MANY POSSIBLE OUTCOMES!! So it was nothing short of wonderful to have Sam and Diarm over at EquiRatings put a podcast out almost immediately afterward which helped to calm my racing mind. They were able to provide a much more coherent summary of the entries, and pose some interesting questions along the way, including the all important one…who will take the coveted Badminton title this year, with all recent winners (horses, that is) absent from the start list. Will the girls make it five years in a row, or will the boys rise to the top again? I can hardly wait!!
Eventing Nation readers, we need you. Don’t panic, it’s nothing major – we could just use a little help in finding the #Supergroom of the winter season. They sure as hell deserve all the recognition they can get – and some more besides – because as I am sure you will all agree, it’s these heroes that make it all happen, day in, day out. So if you have someone in mind, then head on over here and cast your votes. Don’t dilly dally though, nominations close April 4th, with the winner crowned April 5th.
The Kiwi contingent enjoyed a super successful weekend out in the Netherlands last weekend. Olympic qualification was the name of the game, and both Caroline Powell and Tim Price achieved just that, on two horses apiece. Tim also finished second in the CCI4*L, an added bonus this early in the season, and a placing that will only enhance his chances of a spot on that Olympic team…
Sponsor Corner
Looking to help out your local eventing community? If you’re local to Aiken, consider volunteering at Stable View! Our sport runs on volunteers. Register as a volunteer here.
Weekend Watching
Kentucky and Badminton are but a heartbeat away, so it seems only right to ring in the weekend with a little 5* action – enjoy this throwback to last year’s Burghley Horse Trials, where Holly Richardson and Bally Louis made their 5* debut, jumping round the seriously tough track with ease. Holly and Louis are on the start list for Badminton, where hopefully they will smash it once again.
