Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

The season has been firmly put to bed, which means that the indoor cross-country circuit can begin — and the Sweden International Horse Show certainly delivered on that front. 12 combinations representing five countries came forward for the fast and furious class under the lights, which saw Sweden handily take the team competition and their leading rider, Frida Andersen, take the individual win with Box Leo. With all the uncertainty around the new COVID variant, which has already seen travel restrictions come into play in Europe, I certainly hope this won’t be the last of these classes we get to enjoy this winter.

National Holiday: It’s Cyber Monday, so if you’re not totally shopped out from the weekend, you could nab some serious deals online to finish up your Christmas shopping or stock up your tack room.

U.S. Weekend Action:

Pine Top Thanksgiving H.T. (Thompson, GA): [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

Another week, another slew of reasons why Brexit could be the biggest danger yet to the UK’s horse industry. This time, the criticism comes from the FEI’s veterinary director, Göran Åkerström, who points out that the long waiting times and administrative nightmare of the extra border controls is likely to stop people from travelling between Britain and continental Europe unless they absolutely have to. No man is an island, as the saying goes, but at this rate, the UK’s horse industry certainly is.

Virginia-based trainer Ally Smith doesn’t just focus on producing horses for showjumping and eventing — she also provides a lifeline for working horses heading to the slaughterhouse. This might be my favourite lockdown venture yet.

More and more, buyers in the market for a new horse are looking for the holy grail: a totally clean sheet from the vet. But do you actually need your horse to have perfect x-rays and no lumps, bumps, or oddities, or is learning to manage minor issues part and parcel of owning competition horses?

Heading down to the southern sun from one of the colder states this winter? Lucky you — but before you go, brush up on how the move might affect your horse’s health and what you can do to prevent any issues from arising. Oh, and have a margarita for me, please.

We’ve all had those moments when, after receiving a particularly disappointing score in a test, we assume the judge doesn’t like us, our horse, the brand of saddle we ride in, or somethingBut while some degree of subjectivity will always come into play, judges work hard to be as objective as possible — and as a rider, the best thing you can learn is to control the variables you can and do the very best you and your horse are capable of on the day.

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I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone more badass than Danish vaulter Amanda Staalsø — and even if you don’t fancy ever doing flips on top of a horse, her content will definitely inspire you to go big or go home.

Morning Viewing:

Bicton CCI5* winner Gemma Tattersall is becoming a real force to be reckoned with on the showjumping circuit too, and she began her Oliva Nova circuit with a bang, winning the 1.40m gold tour with the excellent MGH Candy Girl. Catch their blazing round here: