Friday News & Notes Presented by Zoetis

Luke 140 is definitely excited to be back in work. Photo courtesy of Boyd Martin.

Remember yesterday when I was gushing about how fun it is to see “retired” upper level horses enjoying a sound and productive second career in their twenties? Yeah. Then at 5am I received a text from my neighbor saying that she had caught two horses loose on the road and returned them to stalls in my barn, and she hoped they were mine. Cue me running outside in my sleepwear to determine who was missing and who was in the barn. I’ll give you ONE GUESS who was the culprit. That’s right. Twenty-one-year-old Nyls, having jumped out of the field in the early pre-dawn hours, somehow convinced one of his buddies to accompany him on an escapade, and was unapologetic about his behavior. I swear he’s gonna be the death of me.

U.S. Weekend Preview

The Event at Archer and Area IX Championships (Cheyenne, WY): [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Caber Farm H.T. (Onalaska, WA): [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club H.T. (Geneseo, NY): [Website] [Entry Status] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Huntington Farm H.T. (South Strafford, VT): [Website] [Entry Status] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Ocala Summer H.T. II (Ocala, FL): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Waredaca Farm H.T. (Gaithersburg, MD): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Major International Events

FEI Eventing Nations Cup CCIO4*-S + International H.T. (Bromont, Canada): [Website] [Entry Status] [Scoring]

News From Around the Globe:

A paint Cob-Percheron cross might not be the first choice for most dressage riders, but Oreo has a work ethic to beat the band and a heart of gold. Purchased as a three-year-old by her sexagenarian amateur owner Elaine Knowles Cole, her good brain has carried her far. As far as leading the victory gallop at this year’s NAYC by earning a team gold medal with Mary Claire Pillar in the irons. Both of them were debuting at the CDI level as well as their first NAYC, and Oreo’s future looks bright. [An Unexpected Oreo at NAYC]

Grooms have all the best stories from behind-the-scenes. Aside from interesting facts from the barns at big competitions, traveling with upper level horses can sometimes have crazy complications, and ridiculous tales are one of my favorite things. Check out this compilation of stories from the world’s top grooms across disciplines of hilariously weird things that have happened to them at important times. [It shouldn’t Happen To A Groom…But It Did]

“Your horse needs colic surgery.” This is the statement horse owners hope they never hear from their veterinarians. Improvements in recognizing when horses need referral to a surgical facil­ity, more advanced diagnostic capa­bilities, and safer anesthetic protocols developed over the past few decades have improved prognoses for horses undergoing colic surgery. Yet, many owners still perceive colic surgery in a negative light. They might know someone whose horse had colic sur­gery, or people have told them how horses do after it. The outcome in those cases, instead of the facts, can heavily sway decisions to pursue surgery. Let’s look at which common rumors are just myths. [Common Myths About Colic Surgery]

Best of Blogs: Why We Clinic

If there is one thing that we can all agree on, horses probably need to jump less than they do. Between the demands of learning, practice, preparation, and actual horse showing, it can sometimes be a difficult balance to keep the number of jumps to a manageable level. In this article, you’ll learn how poles or small boxes can be used in the place of jumps to help improve your horse’s straightness, balance, form fitness, jump intelligence, and other improvements without the impact of repetition taking off and landing from larger fences. [Mindful Flatting with Ground Poles]