The Compton Cowboys do all sorts of incredible things from their inner-city stables in Los Angeles — but it’s their Junior posse that really melts my heart time and time again, particularly when their tiniest members get involved. Look, it’s a Monday, and Mondays can be a little bit rough — so just give yourself a moment to take in baby My’s really big helmet and really teeny boots, and let the world feel okay again. You’ve got this.
National Holiday: Apparently it’s Cheap Flight Day, so I guess I really ought to sit down and book all my travel for EN’s European extravaganza over the next couple of months!
US Weekend Action:
MARS Great Meadow International: Website, Results, EN’s Coverage
Caber Farm H.T. (Onalaska, Wa.): [Website] [Results]
The Event at Archer (Cheyenne, Wy.): [Website] [Results]
Full Gallop Farm H.T. (Aiken, Sc.): [Website] [Results]
Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club H.T. (Geneseo, Ny.): [Website] [Results]
Huntington Farm H.T. (South Strafford, Vt.): [Website] [Results]
Metamora Hunt II Pony Club H.T. (Metamora, Mi.): [Website] [Results]
Ocala Summer II H.T. (Ocala, Fl.): [Website] [Results]
UK Weekend Action:
Baileys Horse Feeds Somerford Park International (2): [Results]
Borde Hill (2): [Results]
Solihull (2): [Results]
Northallerton (2): [Results]
Global Eventing Roundup:
It’s been a jam-packed weekend, with a whopping nine FEI events taking place around the world. Chief among those in Europe were Belgium’s Arville Horse Trials, which hosted the latest leg of the FEI Nations Cup alongside classes up to CCI4*-S, and Poland’s Strzegom Summer Tour, which also hosted up to CCI4*-S.
It was a groundbreaking weekend for the home nation at Arville as Belgium took top honours in the Nations Cup — the first time the country has ever won a leg of this prestigious series. The team, made up of Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Ducati d’Arville, Karin Donckers and Leipheimer van’t Verahof, Kris Vervaecke and Guantanamo van Alsingen, and Manon Minner and Cool Dancer beat second-placed Sweden, third-placed Germany, fourth-placed Austria and fifth-placed Italy to earn valuable series points, putting them in equal secondon the series leaderboard. Sweden remains out in front on 240 as they chase another series victory, with just the Bromont leg in September and the series finale at Boekelo in October yet to come.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob OLD returned to competition, and wasted no time at all in showing everyone how it’s done. They finished on their dressage score of 23.9 to take the win in the CCIO4*-S, followed by fellow countrymen Dirk Schrade and Casino 80, nearly four marks behind. Third place went to Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Ducati d’Arville, which secured Lara the title of Belgian National Champion for the fifth consecutive time. The influential track played a major part in this star-studded field, with 24 non-completions across the country — and those included the likes of Michael Jung and fischerWild Wave and Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S. This event served as the final selection trial for the European Championships, and we’ll be waiting with bated breath to see the part it played on the shape of the team as we’ve known them thus far. Check out the full results from Arville here.
Over in Strzegom, Germany’s Nicolai Aldinger topped the CCI4*-S class with his stalwart partner Timmo, while Japan’s Yoshiaki Oiwa finished second aboard Tullyoran Cruise JRA, his original intended Tokyo mount. Rounding out the top three was Dutch National Champion Merel Blom, riding Crossborder Radar Love. She finished ahead of the highest-placed Polish rider, Mateusz Kiempa, who piloted Lassban Radovix to fourth place. Poland’s Julia Gillmaier took top honours in the CCI3*-S with Red Dream Princes, while Yoshiaki Oiwa won the CCI2*-S with Olympic ride Calle 44.
Your Monday Reading List:
When it comes to riding effectively, there’s so much advice out there that it can often feel like you’re meant to do 10,000 things at once. But when you try, your horse just becomes more confused and frustrated, and then it seems as though your schooling session just unravels around you. The secret? Simplification — and Jimmy Wofford is on hand to show you how. [Simplify Your Riding]
Amateur eventer and small animal oncologist Erin Roof-Wages knows a great support system is key to getting it all done. And that’s just what she did when she won the CCI2*-S at River Glen Horse Trials — her first international in two decades — aboard Semisonic Rembrandt. [Amateur Showcase: Roof-Wages Relies On Her Village To Compete The Colorful Semisonic Rembrandt]
B Walt Lando Z’s story is far from a conventional one: it includes the tragic death of his young rider and major health setbacks from kissing spines and a tendon injury, for a start. But now he’s back out and winning on the British eventing circuit with a new rider — and he’s helping a recovering addict along the way, too. [Horse overcomes kissing spines to make winning return to eventing five years after young owner’s death]
A British photographer has spent the last decade summering at a Wyoming dude ranch. Her images might just inspire you to swap over to the dark side for a little while. [Scenes From a Dude Ranch on the High Plains]
The FutureTrack Follow:
If you’re not following Dressage Queen of Memes yet, who are you?
Morning Viewing:
Want an exciting, influential cross-country session to stick on in the background while you work this morning? Relive the Arville CCIO4*-S in its entirety here:
