Samantha Clark photo
What a great weekend of eventing! With two big events and many others happening, there was lots of excitement. Buck Davidson and Andrew Nicholson had big wins separated by a big pond giving spectators a lot of good riding to watch.
In addition to horse trials, rumor has it there were quiet a few Pony Club ratings around the country. Congratulations to all that passed! Even more exciting is Eventing Nation’s own, Ali. Ali passed her ‘B’ rating. As she described in her text- she is a ‘B’ for badbutt (they may have been a slightly different word than she used). So congratulations to Ali- you are a ‘B’ and you now shower on a regular basis!
In case you missed the scores, here they are:
Millbrook HT: [Scores]
Area VII YR Benefit HT: [Scores]
Snowfields HT: [Scores]
Bucks Country Schooling HT: [Scores]
Western Reserve PC Mini Trials: [Scores]
Fair Hill HT [Scores]
Now for some news and notes…
Horse Junkies has done a nice article on showing with kids. Super mom, Marisa Goode, shares her experience with working full time, being a full time mom, and showing as well. Excellent planning is key along with an amazing husband. [How to show with kids]
Lauren Sprieser was out and about at Morven Park. Unfortunately after one horse leaving, and a bump on the nose to her Grand Prix ride, Lauren was down two horses. However, she took the downs and turned them around by taking her horse Fender out as a non-compete. In her blog, Lauren discusses getting help from dressage trainer, Pati Pierucci. Pati served as fantastic eyes on the ground to help Lauren with the positioning of Fender’s neck. I have been luck enough to have a few lessons with Pati and she certainly is fantastic! [Lauren’s blog]
With a big win at Gatcombe, Andrew Nicholson is showing the world just want he plans to do in London next year. Nicholson talks about Nero’s speed and how it seems as if Nero knows the jumps before he even sees them. The British team is still uncertain for London but there are a lot of riders that are looking on top form. [Nicholson takes the win]
Gatcombe HT marked the end of an era for Zara Philips and Toytown. In a very emotional ceremony, Zara officially retired “Noddy” from competition. Zara fought hard during the ceremony to hold back the tear but eventually she gave in. Zara says she doesn’t know that she will ever have a horse of his level but hopes that she will have one that could go there. Toytown was the horse of a lifetime for Zara. He will be well missed from British Eventing. [Toytown retires]
Well Meg Kep is off again with Tate. After riding in a lorry with 1,000,000 miles on it, Meg and Tate arrived safely into a stall at JFK where they had to wait to be transported on to the plan and then over seas. Poor Meg, I bet Sinead put that phone of yours in the water on purpose. Hopefully you are going to get a phone in the UK! Good luck to Sinead, Meg and Tate. [The Adventures of Meg Kep]
Doug Payne gives a Millbrook wrap up. After a week at HITS, Doug and Running Order had a great clear round with only one time penalty. Doug also talks about his decision to pass on the grant to Blenheim. He feels as though Ro and himself are too green to go to England and have a chance of winning. If he goes, to Blenheim, he will have a short fall. If he stays in the US, he will be able to have several more runs and be better prepared for Rolex Kentucky in the spring. I give Doug a lot of credit as I am sure that was not an easy decision. [DPEquestrian]
Some great blogs: Kim writes about eventing in the Czech Republic and coaching Nina, Boyd says that Neville felt great and is still on track for Burghley, and Kate Chadderton loves her sport
Check out Buck and Reggie through the water:
Hope where ever you are you have a great Monday. Stay locked in for great coverage throughout the week. Go Eventing.
