Strzegom in Poland was the weekend’s major European eventing fixture, and what a competition it was: twisty, technical courses from 1* to CCI4*-S put horses and riders to the test, and that four-star was, as is always the case at Strzegom, packed with names you need to know. The eventual winner was Belgium’s Tine Magnus and Dia Van Het Lichterveld Z, a horse I’ve been obsessed with since her young horse class years, and who climbed from first-phase eleventh place with a super-speedy 2.4 time penalties across the country. Belgium’s exceptional 2023 season looks set to be continuing in much the same way in 2024.
Second in this class was a pair who US audiences, particularly, will want to take note of – Germany’s Christoph Wahler and D’Accord 70, who’ll be heading stateside in a couple of weeks to tackle their first Kentucky. Prepare to fall in love with the incredibly leggy tall glass of water that is D’Accord. Also, let’s be real, you’re going to fancy Christoph. In ninth place, too, we saw another high-flying German duo who are aiming for Kentucky – that was Calvin Böckmann, once dubbed ‘the young Jung’ by EquiRatings, and The Phantom of the Opera, who’ll be making their 5* debut this month. And, finally, in fifteenth place after a great run, we see Nicolai Aldinger and Timmo, who’ll be rounding out that trio of German-lads-we’ll-all-be-talking-about in Lexington soon.
And, of course, we actually saw the Stars and Stripes represented in Strzegom, thanks to Alexa Gartenberg and Cooley Kildare! They finished 36th after an educational early-season run, and we can’t wait to see how they develop as 2024 unfolds.
National Holiday: It’s National Empanada Day. I still dream daily of the surprisingly excellent Mexican food that can be picked up at dodgy-looking gas stations in Ocala, so if you’re on that side of the pond, have one for me today.
US Weekend Action:
Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]
CDCTA Spring H.T. (Ruckersville, VA) [Website] [Results]
Pine Hill Spring H.T. (Bellville, TX) [Website] [Results]
Rocking Horse Spring H.T. (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Results]
UK Weekend Results:
Larkill (Larkhill, Wilts.): [Results]
Norton Disney (1) (Norton Disney, Lincs.): [Results]
Major International Events:
Strzegom Spring Open 1 (Poland): [Website] [Results]
Your Monday Reading List:
There are few things that strike fear into the hearts of horse owners quite like the idea of soft-tissue injuries. That’s because these tricky, nuanced lamenesses can be a real bugger to get right – each has a very specific rehabilitation plan and timeline associated with it, and setbacks aren’t particularly uncommon on the road to recovery. But while that might sound pretty doom and gloom (can you tell I’ve had to deal with an ongoing and particularly tricky one?!), there is light at the end of the tunnel, and with careful management, lots of horses who’ve ‘done a leg’ can return to their peak performance. This article offers an interesting insight and overview into each part of the process.
It turns out I really needed an essay on half-halts as a metaphor for life this morning. After a long, achingly tough weekend, I can relate all too well to Camilla Mortensen’s beautifully penned blog about finding a way to momentarily regroup before powering forward into the unknown with a clearer head, better balance, and a touch more confidence. Read her words, which are much better than my summary of them, here, and I hope, if you’re in need of galvanising this morning, that they do that for you, too.
Another thing I needed this morning? This very good advice on when and why to clip. My mare didn’t get a clip this winter, and now she’s in peak shedding season, and believe you me, I am desperate to take the blades to her and skip the next few weeks of accidentally flossing my teeth with grimy belly hair. But Cat Hill of World Class Grooming is here to put a stop to my crazy, once and for all. Maybe.
Struggling with muddy pastures and bottomless gateways? I feel you. Here in England, all we have is mud, mud, mud, and some more mud, and very occasionally, an event that manages to run despite the mud which kind of, somehow, distracts us from the mud. It’s not fun, and it’s not ideal for our horses’ legs, either. But what can you do about it at home? A few things, actually – and this short piece from Equus has tips for things you can try right now, like laying material in gateways, and plans you can put in place ahead of next mud-season.
Morning Viewing:
Join British eventer Ashley Harrison and her 4* horse, Zebedee, as they head to Munstead for a combined training outing in something that actually appears to resemble sunshine, unusually.
