EN reader Kasey Mueller is at the IEA Classic 3-Day and Horse Trials in Indiana this weekend, one of the events in the SmartPak Equine USEA Classic Series.. Yesterday, she kindly sent us some photos from dressage day, and now she’s back with a brief report from cross country. Thanks for writing, Kasey, and thank you for reading! [IEA Ride Times/Scores]
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It takes a village — especially at the vet check. Photo by Kasey Mueller.
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From Kasey:
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Rain rain go away! It was a really busy day at IEA. There was a full range of competition from beginner novice to intermediate/preliminary with the horse trials going on at the Hoosier Horse Park on Saturday. In spite of the rainy conditions (again), everyone remained in good spirits.
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Across the road, it was endurance day for the riders competing in the training and novice 3-day. It was pouring (again) when the training-level riders did their endurance phase first thing in the morning. But by the time the novice 3-day riders started their roads and tracks, the rain had all but stopped. And when the last person finished cross country, the sun was actually shining. It was thrilling to watch the competitors come off of road and tracks, gallop around the steeplechase course and then finish with cross country. Whew — no wonder they call it endurance day!
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My favorite part of the day was spent in the vet check area before and after the 3-day cross country. The family and friends of each competitor awaited their rider’s arrival from phase 3, and then they would help cool the horse and rider off. The veterinarians were great with helping the competitors and their horses to recover.
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It was a fabulous and fun team environment. Everyone was looking out for the entire competitor community. People would jump in and lend a hand cooling a horse or getting water for another rider if they had a small support team. One of the riders was overheard saying, “This is what I LOVE about Eventing! Everyone is so nice.” It was great to see the best part of eventing — really nice people coming together and supporting each other.
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- A helpful reminder to unhook that airvest before jumping off!
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- It takes a village — especially at the vet check. Photo by Kasey Mueller.
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- Calico Swirl and Sara Bates’ team hard at work.
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- Jenny, the friendly starter for roads and tracks.
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- Samantha Diulus and Salute the Truce on the steeplechase course.
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- Anne Czerwonka and Two Punch coming off of Roads and Tracks.
