Valerie Vizcarrondo and Diablo Guapo took home some nice loot with their second place ribbon from Paradise Farm! Photo via Facebook.
It was a glorious, sunny day yesterday, and for the first time since November I popped my horse over a little cross rail in the ring, just for kicks. About two strides out you could see a thought bubble pop above his head – “Oh, we’re doing this now? A little warning would have been nice!” – before putting more far effort than necessary into getting to the other side. Next time around, he literally trotted over it like a ground rail and acted insulted about how small it was. I can’t win.
National Holiday: Presidents’ Day
U.S. Weekend Action:
Rocking Horse Winter II H.T. [Website] [Results]
Paradise Farm H.T. [Website] [Results]
Fresno County Horse Park H.T. [Website] [Results]
Monday News and Notes:
Fratelli Fabbri has announced its 100% animal product-free riding boots are now on the market. Crafted from faux leather and other non-animal components, the Fabbri VEG boots are easier to clean, harder to damage, and more eco-friendly than traditional leather kicks. And they look great, too! [Fabbri Unveils First Vegan Riding Boot]
One of Tamra Smith’s favorite grid exercises helps horses be quick on their feet and fine tune their adjustability. She frequently keeps it set up in the arena at home and now you can, too. In this single exercise, horses must open their stride for a longer distance and compress to bounce. [Grid Pro Quo with Tamra Smith]
It’s no secret, Florida is a great place to be in winter. The weather is almost perfect all the time, and the competition season starts early. The rest of the world must be catching on because Switzerland’s Felix Vogg is spending the winter Stateside. He has family in America and also wanted to get a jump start on the season with his potential WEG horse, Colero, who won an Intermediate division at Rocking Horse this weekend. [Now On Course: From Switzerland to the States for Felix Vogg]
Tack manufacturer Fairfax recently worked with horse and rider analysis specialists Centaur Biomechanics to test how breastplates affect a horse’s jump. What they found was a breastplate changes the shape of a horse’s jump, causing a shorter arc and steeper landing. [Breastplates change the way horses jump, research finds]
Monday Video: Accurate.
