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This sweet tribute to Allstar B, Ros Canter’s late World Champion, has really got me this morning. It reminds me how lucky we all our to share our lives with our own special horses, but it also reminds me how truly fortunate I am to get to travel the world watching these legends of the sport in action week after week. Hug your ponies for me today, gang, because through the good days and the bad, they remain pretty great, don’t they?
National Holiday: It’s International Polar Bear Day. These guys are having a pretty crap time at the moment, all things considered, with the speedy melting of the polar ice caps, so for their sake, let’s all try to be a bit sustainably-minded today (and, well, forever, if we can!).
U.S. Weekend Action:
Full Gallop Farm Mid February H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]
Pine Top Advance H.T. (Thomson, GA) [Website] [Results]
Three Lakes Winter II H.T. at Caudle Ranch (Groveland, FL) [Website] [Results]
Your Monday Reading List:
When Anne Sagalyn first set eyes on Arabian ex-racehorse Laz, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. But over time, and with plenty of trust and patience, something magical started to happen – and her background in clinical psychology certainly played a major part in helping her to figure out the troubled, unhappy little horse she’d brought him. [From shut down to thriving]
Introducing a young horse to lateral work for the first time can be a process. But there’s actually plenty you can do to help them understand the aids through groundwork first, and it can make the whole shebang go a heck of a lot easier. [Here’s how the dressage pros do it]
We’ve all been there: one day, out of nowhere, your horse is 10/10 three-legged lame, and you don’t know why. Often, these dramatic lamenesses come down to one thing — and that’s a pesky hoof abscess. Here’s the 411 on what they are, where they come from, and how to deal with them. [The bane of horsey folk]
Meet Qatari showjumper Rami Younis, who actually rides for Canada despite living and riding in his Middle Eastern home country. The up-and-comer enjoyed spending last week competing at the spectacular CHI Al Shaqab, which truly took him back to his roots: prior to the Al Shaqab facility being one of the Gulf region’s biggest competition venues, it was structured more like a pony club around the extant Arab breeding facilities. [Showjumping around the world]
The FutureTrack Follow:
Fancy one extra bit of eventing inspiration on your feed each day? Amateur photographer Mace McLean can help, with his random rider of the day posts highlighting the great snaps he’s taken up and down the UK each year.
Morning Viewing:
Take a spin with baby horse Bea as she tackles her first cross-country with Elisa Wallace:
