My face hurts from smiling, I’m so full of good food I could bust, and I’m grateful to be surrounded by so much love from family and friends. I sincerely hope that you all had a lovely holiday with an abundance of good cheer and happy memories.
Now, you won’t hear from me on News and Notes again until the New Year, so I want to impart a bit of advice to ring in 2017. Some people like to eat greens and black eyed peas on January 1st for luck and wealth, but I personally consider a New Year’s Day ride to be an essential start to the new year. It’s a tradition that began with a friend a few years ago, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do on New Year’s Day than go for a great ride with a good friend.
2016 was not easy on a lot of levels, but we’re facing a whole new start and a chance to chase dreams and opportunities. For all my horse friends out there in the eventing nation, take advantage of the holiday falling on a Sunday and spend some time at the barn. Even if it’s freezing or snowing or you’re trapped in the indoor, if you are able to, tack up and go ride towards a brilliant new year.
Monday News and Notes:
Steffen Peters’ horses Legolas and Rosamunde were named two of the top three USDF Grand Prix horses of the year. Steffan and his Rio Olympics partner, the 14-year-old Westfalian gelding Legolas, had a median score of 77.160% to top the USDF Grand Prix leaderboard for a remarkable fifth year in a row. Laura Graves and her Rio mount Verdades were second on the USDF Grand Prix rankings with a median score of 76.460%. Rosamunde came third on a 74.965%. [Legolas Named USDF Grand Prix Horse of the Year]
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is Jewish. Or at least his owner, Ahmed Zayat, is Jewish, and last year American Pharoah was named to the was named to the Forward 50, a list of the 50 most influential Jewish individuals. Of course, this news called for a new verse of Adam Sandler’s iconic “Chanukah” song to include celebrity Jewish equestrians. [A Horsey Addition to the Chanukah Song]
The Humane Society of the United States is recognizing equine causes on its top ten achievement list for 2016. The HSUS has supported protecting the lives of wild horses in U.S. holding facilities while also beginning fertility control projects to humanely control herd growth in Puerto Rico. They have also continued to work to keep the doors of U.S. slaughter houses closed. Read the article for more information on the HSUS’s success in helping animals around the world. [Wild horse freedom among charity’s top ten achievements for 2016]
The Horse brings us a plethora of horse health education on topics that run the gamut from hooves to nutrition to research and technology. It’s where I go to begin a search for horse related health and wellness questions. The Horse staff has rounded up their best articles of 2016 and the most read piece of the year was about a study revealing that horses “talk” to their handlers. I feel like this one and the study that proved horses have emotions resulted in a collective face-palm by the horse people of the world. But that doesn’t mean the science isn’t awesome, so check it out – [The Horse’s Top Articles]
Monday Video: The truth about Rudolph…
Hermes Noel from Peter Sluszka on Vimeo.