Monday News & Notes from Fleeceworks

The last time I reported at an event for EN was at the very beginning of the year, when I crossed the pond to spend a sunny week in Ocala and subsequently Wellington, where editor Leslie and I teamed up to cover the eventing showcase. After that, the season dried up like a dog turd on a hot sidewalk, without even a fistful of miserably cold and wet days at Burnham Market on offer.

But now, lads and lasses, I’m back — well, nearly, anyway. You’ll find me reporting remotely on Haras du Pin this week, where the FEI Nations Cup series is picking itself up and dusting itself off, and then next week — joy of joys — I’ll be embarking on a cheeky six-hour road trip up to Burgham, where a jam-packed CCI4*-S will be my sole focus for a few days. How jam-packed? Try nearly 200 entries. Thank god I don’t need to write a form guide for this one!

Whichever way the competition goes next week, you’ll be spoiled rotten, eventing fans. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of just a few of the superstars fighting for the title, courtesy of the press team at Burgham …

“⭐️ 1: world champion (Ros Canter Eventing‘s Allstar B)
⭐️ 7: CCI5* winners (Oliver Townend (Official)‘s Ballaghmor Class and Cooley Master Class, Team Price‘s Faerie Dianamo, Wesko, Classic Moet and Ringwood Sky Boy, and Tom McEwen Eventing‘s Toledo De Kerser)
⭐️ 1: 2019 Bramham CCI4*-L winner and 2019 Burgham CCI4*-S winner (Kitty King Eventing‘s Vendredi Biats)
⭐️ 1: 2019 Blenheim CCI4*-L winner (Piggy March‘s Brookfield Inocent)
⭐️ 1: 2019 Boekolo CCI4*-L winner (Laura Collett’s London 52)
⭐️ 1: 2019 British National Champion (Ben Hobday‘s Shadow Dancer II)
⭐️ 1: individual bronze medallist and team gold medallist from the 2017 Europeans (Nicola Wilson Eventing‘s Bulana)
⭐️ 1: Strzegom 2019 CCI4*-L winner (Harry Meade Eventing‘s Superstition)

That’s before you get to the likes of Mr Bass, Ivar Goodun (M.S.Team Eventing with Imogen Murray), Springpower (Sarah Cutty Cohen), Don Geniro (Alex Hua Tian Eventing), Fobherna Lancer, Fox-Pitt Eventing‘s Little Fire and Oratorio II, Reve Du Rouet (Bullimore Eventing), MHS King Joules and Cillnabradden Evo…”

You’ll be able to follow along with Horse&Country TV’s livestream and, of course, wall-to-wall coverage of the sort that only EN delivers. Your loyal British Correspondent is delighted to be at your service once again.

National Holiday: It’s National Spoil Your Dog Day (who comes up with these things, anyway…?!). I recommend a beach or lake trip to celebrate, if you’re also in the middle of a heatwave.

US Weekend Results:

The Summer Event at Woodside: Results

IEA Horse Trials: Results

GMHA Festival of Eventing HT: Results

Otter Creek HT: Results

Fair Hill International HT: Results

Spring Gulch HT: Results

WindRidge Farms Summer HT: Results

UK Weekend Results:

Skipton (2): Results

Norton Disney: Results

Moreton (2): Results

Your Monday Reading List:

The SafeSport rulings against George Morris and Jimmy Williams have now become lawsuits. Also facing further legal action is the USEF, with allegations that the organization failed to protect young athletes by turning a blind eye on Morris’ reputation for sexual abuse of young, male riders, and Flintridge Riding Club, which employed Williams for over four decades even after it received complaints of abuse and assault from at least one child: “These cases are not just about individual cases. Yes, these are two individual offenders, but it didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened in an industry and a community that allowed it to happen … These perpetrators wouldn’t have been able to access kids if they didn’t have the stature in the equestrian community that was given to them.” [Sex Abuse Survivors File Suit Against Morris, USEF And Flintridge] [Top Equestrians Accused of Sex Abuse in Lawsuits]

We don’t often head over to the world of saddleseat, but this story warrants a trip. It takes a brief look at the remarkable life of Tom Bass, who was born into slavery but went on to make major waves in the sport, innovating in the interest of horsemanship and leaving behind a crucial legacy. [Former slave became famous for his prize-winning horsemanship]

The recent cancellation of high-profile, big-stakes competitions, including the AECs and Pony Finals, have shown how badly people’s riding goals can be derailed by circumstance. But why, asks Shelby Dennis, can’t many of those same people summon the empathy to understand what it must be like for aspiring riders whose entire lives are derailed by circumstance? In this blog, she makes a great case for turning our horse show blues into something bigger than ourselves. [The Classism That is Jumping Out in the Horse World in 2020]

A grassroots event horse who had a frightening mishap with a swimming pool is back in action, taking a top-ten spot at his return to competition. The moral of the story? Horses do the darnedest things, basically. [‘Swimming pool horse’ comes back from watery escapade to top-10 event finish]

J. Michael Plumb really, really likes the Olympics — in fact, he’s been to eight of them, more than any other US athlete. In this piece from the Chronicle of the Horse, he recalls his experiences flying the stars and stripes around the world. [A Lifetime of Olympics]

What I’m Listening To:

Obviously I had to drop everything and tune into the Major League Eventing podcast when they interviewed our very own editor and resident badass, Leslie Wylie. If you’re not familiar with our Leslie (where have you BEEN), she’s not a lass who does anything by halves — she’s a Mongol Derby competitor, a party girl after my own heart, and a tireless champion for diversity in the sport. She’s also, you know, hilarious. You can listen to her guest appearance here.

Donation Station: 

Our favourite equine-themed literacy programme, Saddle Up and Read, has launched a new fundraiser to ensure the kiddos enrolled have plenty of new books to read and every opportunity to head out to the farm for some good, safe, pony-mad fun. Their current fundraiser comes to us in the form of a t-shirt sale, with just $25 netting you a highly covetable white tee with a vintage-inspired bronco design. You can chip in and get yours here.

Monday Video from Fleeceworks:

It’s been a while since we’ve enjoyed a good Battle of the Germans. Let’s relive a great one from last year.