Throw down in the dressage ring, step behind the chip shop counter, that’s Pippa’s way!
Every time Pippa Funnell is interviewed, she has an almost compulsory urge to tell us all that she thinks she close to retirement age, and her glory days of winning the Grand Slam are well behind her, and then she shows up and does this thing again. The thing where she blows us all out of the water and takes the lead, all while humbly talking about her horse and how much she loves him. I mean, could we ask for a better role model?
Make sure you keep up with all the five-star action right here on Eventing Nation through the weekend!
You can follow along with the live stream on H&C+ with a subscription or a one-time viewing pass. If you choose to purchase an annual H&C+ subscription, you can save 15% if you use the code EVENTINGNATION15. And if you just can’t wait ‘til Saturday to see the cross country course, you can check out the route and fences here. We’ll be bringing you live updates of all three 5* phases, so keep it locked onto EN to read about all the action as it happens.
EN will have boots on the Luhmuhlen ground, where Tilly will be bringing us ALL the news from the event. Keep up with the EN coverage and follow @goeventing for all the 5* – and 4* – content you can handle.
Longines Luhmühlen CCI5*: [Website] [Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [How to Watch] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Form Guide]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Aspen Farm H.T (Yelm, WA) [Website] [Volunteer] [Entries / Ride Times / Scoring]
Full Gallop Farm June H.T (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Volunteer]
Honey Run H.T. (Ann Arbor, MI) [Website] [Volunteer]
Horse Park of New Jersey H.T. I (Allentown, NJ) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]
Seneca Valley Pony Club H.T. (Poolesville, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Scoring]
Shepherd Ranch Pony Club H.T. I (Santa Ynez, CA) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times / Scoring]
Silverwood Farm Spring H.T. (Trevor, WI) [Website] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
News From Around the Globe:
A true horsewoman through the centuries, our community lost Ellie Wood Baxter this week. Perhaps she isn’t as famous in the other parts of the world, but I was fortunate enough to grow up with her literally right down the road from me, and she was always a local fixture. She lived to the age of 101, and was riding out not long ago in Farmington Hunt Country. She lived an absolutely fascinating life. In 2020, the 1936 Maclay champion shared the following memories about showing from the 1920s through the 1960s and beyond, along with her candid opinions about trends in today’s show world, which you can read here. [Thoroughbreds, Promenades and Luncheons at Waldorf Astoria]
Imo Brook is recovering well from her fall at Bramham. She was competing in the Under-25 division at Bramham CCI4*-L when her 14-year-old gelding San Solo fell quite hard on cross country. Imo sustained a broken pelvis, but her outlook is positive, saying that after a surgery and some physio she will be back in the saddle again. Her horse, Solo, experienced no injury during the fall, and is happily enjoying quality time with his groom, Emma Maisey. [Imo Brook Recovering]
Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is a viral disease of horses and other animals that is currently causing trouble in California. Infection results in vesicles (blisters), crusts, and ulceration of the lips, muzzle, nose, tongue, ears, sheath, teats, and/or coronary band. Transmission is predominantly by black flies, sand flies, and biting midges. The virus is in the active lesion, thus animals with active lesions can transmit the virus by direct contact, shared feed/water sources, and other carriers contaminated by infective lesions, vesicular fluid, and/or saliva. The lesions are self-limiting and typically resolve within 14 days. Humans can be infected from exposure to this virus and have mild flu-like symptoms. Check out these biosecurity measures from the USEF to protect yourself and your horse. [Safety and Biosecurity Measures]
Arabian blood seems to have more influence in eventing horses than we thought. According to some researchers, eventing horses with Arabian blood, even quite low percentages, tended to perform better in the three disciplines that make up the challenging sport. María José Sánchez-Guerrero and her fellow researchers, writing in the journal Animals, said the Arabian is a generally reliable sport horse, and continues to be a remarkable endurance horse. This being the case, the estimated proportion of Arabian genes in horses participating in Eventing can be a relevant factor. Read more to find out how Arabians continue to influence the modern sport horse. [Eventing Success Aided by Arabians]
