The start of June means one thing: it’s all killer, no filler eventing content from Europe. (Apologies; I took a weekend off horses and saw Sum 41 on Saturday night, so I can only think in album titles now.) This week, EN heads back to beefy Bramham in Yorkshire for arguably the biggest CCI4*-L in the world, which returns after a long hiatus throughout the pandemic. Then, we’re off to Germany for Luhmühlen CCI5* next week and CHIO Aachen, the greatest of all the CCI4*-S competitions, in the last week of the month. Das ist sehr gut.
National Holiday: In a real throwback to first lockdown, it’s cool cat Carole Baskin’s birthday. Is that a national holiday, strictly speaking? No. But it feels a touch more interesting than ‘National Eyewear Day’.
#PrideMonth Learning Opportunity: Sometimes, it can be hard to separate Pride and all that it stands for from the mass exploitation that corporate culture puts it through — and so it’s doubly important to take five and familiarise yourself with the rich history of the fight for equal rights for LGBTQ+ folks, and significant milestones such as the Stonewall Uprising. Get to grips with history — and learn how you can help the cause — here.
US Weekend Action:
Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club Spring H.T. (Geneseo, Ny.): [Website] [Results]
GMHA June H.T. (South Woodstock, Vt.): [Website] [Results]
IEA H.T. (Edinburgh, Ind.): [Website] [Results]
The Spring Event at Archer (Cheyenne, Wy.): [Website] [Results]
MCTA H.T. at Shawan Downs (Cockeysville, Md.): [Website] [Results]
Ocala Summer I H.T. (Ocala, Fl.): [Website] [Results]
UK Weekend Action:
Ascott Under Wychwood (2): [Results]
Belsay: [Results]
Little Downham (1): [Results]
Global Eventing Round-up:
It’s been a busy weekend of sport, but the highlights have come from two European hotspots: Germany’s Longines PfingstTurnier at the extraordinary Wiesbaden Palace, and Ireland’s Millstreet International.
Laura Collett enjoyed a blinder of a weekend at Millstreet, claiming both the CCI4*-L feature class and the CCI3*-L with Dacapo and Outback, respectively. Both horses led from pillar to post, and we truly hope it’s not too early to call it, but we think Laura might be on track to having a season that rivals Piggy March’s 2019. Fellow Brit Kirsty Chabert took the win in the CCI4*-S with Classic VI, who heads to Luhmühlen next week, followed up by a second and third-place finish for Ireland’s Cathal Daniels with LEB Lias Jewel and Rioghan Rua, who we’ll also see at the German five-star fixture. Jonelle Price took top honours in the CCI2*-L with Fernhill Kankan, while the USA was victorious in the CCIYH2*-S, with Cornelia Dorr‘s DHI Qyaracolle Z climbing from seventh place to take the win in her first run at the level — and at just six years old.
A smoking hot continental line-up battled it out in Wiesbaden’s sole class, the CCI4*-S fixture that’s one of the best-loved in Europe — but it was our Olympic champions, Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Amande de B’Neville, who took the spoils on their return to international competition. They beat fellow German medal fiend Michael Jung, who took second place with Highlighter, and Austrian superstar Lea Siegl, who piloted her Tokyo mount DSP Fighting Line to third place.
Your Monday Reading List:
Could show prep — including the use of coat sprays and frequent bathing — be harming your horse’s skin? There are several conditions that competition horses are much more susceptible to, whether that’s from overgrooming, shared brushes, long stints in transport, or proximity to horses from other yards — but by ensuring you’re aware of the risks, you can work to prevent issues this season. [Find out how]
We see a lot of older horses changing hands on Facebook sales groups, and it always breaks my heart a little bit. As an antidote to that sort of thing, here’s a feel-good story about a teenage girl and an unruly summer camp horse, and the promise that kiddo was able to fulfil decades later to ensure the now-37-year-old horse has the very best of retirements. [We should all aspire to this]
Is your barn and home insured against catastrophe? It’s well worth triple-checking your policy — or getting one in place if you haven’t yet. Dom and Jimmy Schramm’s frightening house fire experience will be enough to convince you. [An actual nightmare]
Have you ever been on the receiving end of social media vitriol? You’re not alone. British dressage rider and podcaster Olivia Oakeley is joining the conversation about social media negativity, and the ‘pile-on’ effect, and sharing her simple strategy for learning to deal with the haters. [Social media continues to be a plague tbh]
The FutureTrack Follow:
This week it’s got to be Yorkshire’s Bramham Horse Trials, which returns to the calendar after an achingly long wait since 2019. Ian Stark’s CCI4*-L and CCI4*-S courses look just as tough as we remember them, and each class has a seriously hot field lining up to fight for the titles — so give them a follow for sneak peeks at what’s going on, and stay locked onto EN for wall-to-wall coverage from the king of the four-stars!
Morning Viewing:
Ever fancied checking out big game from the back of a horse? Now you can — vicariously, at least — with vlogger Matt Harnacke:
