How great is it to see some events taking on absolutely colossal entry numbers, and managing to squeeze them all in, no less? We’ve really struggled in the UK with the loss of events – many from tricky weather conditions, some from logistical difficulties arising due to limitations on unaffiliated competition, some because of the rising cost of putting on competitions and handling abandonment insurance, and several, sadly, because of a scarcity of entries. So when I see posts like this one, from the great northern international fixture at Burgham, it’s heartening – and I do hope plenty of people take up their call for volunteers, as it’s a seriously lovely place to spend a day or two, with a super team who’ll look after you well. Plus, you’ll get to see horses and riders such as Away Cruising and Harry Meade, Izilot DHI and Ros Canter, Valmy Biats and Emily King, Liberty and Glory and Tom Crisp, and many, many more in that 156 (!!) strong CCI4*-S. What are you waiting for?!
National Holiday: It’s both National Kitten Day AND National Pina Colada Day. My boyfriend has just asked me if it’s okay to celebrate both or if you have to pick one, and after some consideration, I think it’s mostly just important to follow your own set of beliefs and priorities. If that means finding a kitten bar and getting absolutely flattened on the Coladas, you do you, boo.
U.S. Weekend Action
The Maryland International + Horse Trials (Adamstown, MD) [Website] [Results]
Arrowhead H.T. (Billings, MT) [Website] [Results]
Chattahoochee Hills H.T. (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Results]
Huntington Farm H.T. (South Strafford, VT) [Website] [Results]
Genesee Valley Hunt H.T. (Geneseo, NY) [Website] [Results]
Masterson Equestrian Trust YEH/NEH Qualifier (Lexington, KY) [Website] [Results]
Redefined Equestrian Horse Trials (Fort Collins, CO) [Website] [Results]
Summer Coconino HT and Western Underground, Inc. TR,N,BN 3 Day Event (Flagstaff, AZ) [Website] [Results]
Your Monday Reading List:
Imagine the satisfaction that comes with getting a grey horse seriously sparkling clean – and now multiply it by 100. That’s how I imagine the good folks over in Wiltshire are feeling at the moment as they give their iconic White Horse of Westbury – the oldest of the county’s 13 carved hillside horses – a belated spring clean. It’s never an easy undertaking to clean up what is effectively a reasonably fragile historic monument (just like it’s never particularly easy to get the poo stains off a ticklish grey, because they always seem to be the ticklish ones in the barn), but these guys have a seriously well-thought-out process, which involves a special kind of pressure washer, segmented cleaning areas, and an eight-week turnaround time. Honestly, I’ll be daydreaming about the sheer joy of pressure-washing that thing white again. [Here’s how operation Show-Ready Whites is going]
This one’s worth a share just for that truly adorable and insane final photo. When dressage rider and breeder Cara Klothe put her beloved mare Lhegally Blonde in foal, she did everything right: all the routine visits, all the ultrasounds, all the checks to ensure she and her foal were ticking along in good order, with no surprises to come. But even with all that, they all definitely got a big old surprise when Blondie popped out not one, but two healthy babies. Of course, twin foals are rare, and the odds of both being healthy enough to survive is slim, so the trio were immediately put into round-the-clock care to ensure they’d all thrive in their surprise circumstances. Now, they’re doing really well, and I promise you, you want to click through and check out the pics of these teeny-weeny little darlings. [Go on, treat yourself]
In a bid to improve teaching standards across the country, Equestrian Canada is bringing in the big guns. As of July 1, they’ve introduced a temporary fee for non-licensed coaches – they’ll need to pay $100 per show they teach at. Those fees collected will go towards bolstering the coaching programme, and, EC hopes, all coaches will get on board with joining in, getting licensed, and helping to better the state of riding education across Canada. [Read more here]
Morning Viewing:
Head to Nicola Wilson’s Yorkshire base for a bootcamp like none other in this training vlog:
