Friday News & Notes from World Equestrian Brands

Brandenburg’s Joshua, now 25, checking in from retirement at Hickory Hill! His career highlights include top five finishes in the 2003 Pan Am Games and Kentucky in 2006/2008, and a top 10 finish at his final five-star at Kentucky in 2009. Photo via @StephenBradleyEventing IG.

Red Hills weekend! A definitive weekend for so many horses and riders on the eventing circuit, and truly a destination event. I have been only twice, once as a groom and once as a competitor, and it’s an event like no other. The cross country there is its own kind of test, and is the first sneak peek we get of up-and-coming stars of the year. Can’t wait for Saturday!

National Holiday: National Oreo Cookie Day

U.S. Weekend Preview: 

Red Hills International H.T. (FL) [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Full Gallop Farm March H.T. (SC) [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Southern Pines H.T. (NC) [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

News From Around the Globe:

Every horse person’s nightmare: a car crashing directly into the back of your horse trailer. June Russell lived that nightmare in June of last year traveling through Idaho with three horses in a four-horse slant trailer. A distracted driver went straight into the back at 80mph, killing one horse, and severely injuring the other two. June’s tricky show jumping mare was in the furthest stall, and miraculously recovered from her injuries. [Healing Home on the Range]

Former president of the FEI, Princess Haya, has been in hiding in the UK since April of last year. While the details were murky for many months, it has now been revealed that she fled there in fear of her life and the life of her children after many months of terror from her husband, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai. [Princess Haya Escapes to England]

New year, new Retired Racehorse Project Makeover! Aubrey Graham has participated in the makeover for the past two years with young, lightly raced, red, and spicy Thoroughbreds, but her 2020 entry bucks all the trends. Vanderboom Ridge is a 2011 model, 17.1 hands, bay, ran 49 times, and is quiet as the day is long. Join them on Horse Nation as they blog their journey to the makeover! [Aubrey and Boomer: Road to RRP 2020]

Jamie McAllister, a Michigan eventer who rides with Jon Holling in Ocala during the winter, has created a t-shirt sale fundraiser for frangible technology to be used throughout all our areas at the Preliminary and above. “I travel all over the place and I would love to see our sport in the news for positive reasons and not for  tragedies,” she says. “Frangible technology isn’t the answer to all accidents, but it’s a good start.” [Order]

Featured Video: Summer’s coming, baby! Are you ready? That’s right. Despite the cold, wet, snow/rain/mud that has been plaguing many of us, summer is coming, and getting your body beach-ready can be quite the issue, especially when you spend all day in the barn.

Fortunately, Jordy Wilken and Roeland Disch here to give us some ideas on how to stay in shape and get ready for summer. — DeAnn Sloan