Happy Friday Eventing Nation! You’re stuck with me again this morning, but John should be around soon with lots of posts for this busy day we are about to have. In case you’re like me and the only world and national news you’re aware of comes from links on Eventing Nation, here are a few of the headlines from the ‘normal’ world:
— In some sad news, a shooting took place in Miami yesterday in which two officers died, as well as the suspect for the shooting.
— This news should make John happy: Lady GaGa will be premiering her new song at a Paris Fashion Show. If only the time-shared corporate jet wasn’t in use that weekend… Wishful thinking.
And now onto the real news:
— Poplar Place H.T is taking place this weekend. [Ride Times PDF, Weather in Columbus, GA] The weather looks like it will be mild and so does the competition, as is to be expected early on in the season.
— In more sad news, a wild horse on Assateague Island has been shot dead. The island of Assateague is famous for their wild horses, especially after publication of the book “Misty of Chincoteague,” set on the neighboring island. The shooting took place during a two-day public deer hunt, an annual part of the National Seashore Park’s plan to reduce deer population while fostering enjoyment of the land in the community. The mare that died was 28 years old.
— Felicity the Foxhunter has written another blog post about the disappearance of The Carrot. According to the blog (which is assumed to be fictional), Felicity is traveling on her private jet to question people like Princess Haya and Anky Van Grunsven about The Carrot’s sudden departure from the equestrian scene. If only my life was that exciting…
— In some exciting news, Palm Beach is hosting a Derby Cross in March. According to an article from COTH, PRO (Professional Riders Organization) is sponsoring and organizing the event that’s “designed to showcase some of the nation’s top eventing, show jumping and polo talent.” A star-studded list of riders will be in attendance with names like Karen O’Connor, Buck Davidson, Laura Kraut, and Katie Prudent. This is sure to be a great event, we’ll definitely be talking about it more in the coming weeks.
— A ball honoring the late David Foster will be held next month. As some may remember, David Foster was an Irish event rider who died as the result of a rotational fall at an event in 1998. 1998 was historically one of the sport’s worst years in terms of fatalities in both horses and riders, the tragedies spurred a lot of criticism and re-evaluation of all the aspects to Eventing. After Foster’s death, his wife Denise created the “David Foster Injured Riders Fund,” which will be the fund benefitting from the ball.
—Surviving the prepurchase exam with Dr. Kent Allen [COTH]
—Best of the Blogs: Emily Beshear arrives in Aiken
–We have a busy day coming up on Eventing Nation with the release of Samantha Clark’s new blog. Also, hopefully John will be announcing the next EN Point Two contest so be sure to stay tuned for that.
See you soon and Go Eventing.
