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How cool to see not one, but two eventing gals honoured at last night’s FEI Awards! 20-year-old Alice Casburn, who we first wrote about back in mid-2021, won the Longines Rising Star Award, while Kerryn Edmans, groom to Tim and Jonelle Price, took the Cavalor Grooms’ Prize. Well done, ladies — we couldn’t think of anyone more deserving!
National Holiday: It’s National Pickle Day! Not quite as divisive as, say, Marmite, but I will still hold it against you if you remove the pickle from your burger.
US Weekend Action:
Dutta Corp. Tryon International Three-Day Event (Mill Spring, NC): [Website] [Shannon Brinkman Photo] Results] [YR Team Results]
Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks (Ocala, FL): [Website] [Results]
River Glen Fall H.T. (New Market, TN): [Website] [Results]
Global Eventing Round-Up:
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The big one on everyone’s radar over the weekend was Montelibretti in Italy (ha! I told you the European season was over! I lied!), which hosted a full spectrum of classes all the way from CCI1* to CCI4*-L, with both long- and short-format classes on the roster AND the Senior and Young Rider Regional Championship titles up for grabs.
14 combinations came forward for the feature CCI4*-L, which proved plenty tough: just eight would complete the competition, and after the withdrawal of two-phase leaders Maxime Livio and Elvis de Hus Z after cross-country, plus an unlucky 20 penalties for second-placed Calvin Böckmann and The Phantom of the Opera and an elimination across the country for third-placed Susanna Bordone and Walvis Bay, the door was open for France’s Benoit Parent to step up into the top spot with Dragibus D’Olympe AA. At just nine years old, this exceptional Selle Français impressed through the weekend, delivering a 31.9 in the first phase and coming achingly close to making the time — an achievement managed only by Maxime — in the second. His two seconds over the time on Sunday certainly didn’t take any of the shine off a sparkling clear round.
The CCI4*-S, which had 25 starters and 23 finishers, was led from pillar to post by Germany’s Felix Etzel, a student of the DOKR Warendorf system, and the Trakehner stallion TSF Polartanz. Their excellent clear over a tough showjumping course added just 1.6 time penalties to their first-phase score of 27.5, which gave them a comfortable margin for the cross-country, where time proved tricky: nobody caught it throughout the class, and Felix didn’t have to push to be one of the fastest, either. He picked up 9.6 time penalties on the track but still stayed in front by nearly six penalties — and comfortably romped home with his first-ever four-star victory.
Maxime Livio made up for his disappointment in the CCI4*-L by taking first and second in the CCI3*-L, riding Joel and Chateau de Versailles M2S, respectively. He edged first-phase leaders Julia Krajewski and Ero de Cantraie into third place in the process, ahead of China’s Ruiji Liang and Kiriaantje in fourth.
It was a great weekend to be called Felix: the Swiss edition, Felix Vogg, took top honours in the CCI3*-S, riding wire-to-wire leader Dao de l’Ocean, and won from the front in the CCI2*-S, too, with Zucker 4, and took the CCI1*, for good measure, leading throughout with Giandra van Schloesslihof. Learn to share, Felix.
Finally, the CCI2*-L went the way of another Swiss rider — this time, Camille Guyot, who rode Vinecheska Jeclai’s to a decisive win after taking the lead in the first phase and never relinquishing it.
Your Monday Reading List:
Next month, five new inductees will be added to the US Eventing Hall of Fame. Get to know the four people — and one horse — who’ve been granted this enormous accolade, and find out how you can join in with the celebrations. [Let’s get this party started]
The question of social license and horse welfare was the focal point of this year’s World Horse Welfare conference, with participants discussing the precarious position that the equestrian industry finds itself in in the public eye at the moment. Some salient points were made across the disciplines, including racing, and this round-up of the key points is well worth a read. [Can equestrian sports improve their image?]
How’s this for nominal determinism? Researcher Gordon Gallup has been looking into horses’ sense of self — and, indeed, whether they even are self-aware — and some of the findings and arguments are truly fantastic. Mostly the one that suggests that horses can’t be self-aware because they don’t use mirrors to check out their own bottoms, which, frankly, I’m quite glad about, as someone with a whole wall of mirrors in the arena. [Is your horse self-aware? Who knows.]
The introduction of a surveillance and reporting system at some key competitions has led to a decrease in incidents reported. The Equestrian Community Integrity Unit was set up to tackle any instances of wrongdoing in horse sport, and now, backed up by comprehensive CCTV footage, it appears to be leading to a diminished chance of wrongdoing being committed. [Equestrian sport continues to take out the trash]
The FutureTrack Follow:
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FEI photographer and charming Italian Massimo Argenziano is well worth your follow for his vibrant, emotive photos of equestrian sport across the disciplines. Ciao, Bella!
Morning Viewing:
Check out these faintly mad scenes from the showjumping at the 1948 Olympics in London, where stride patterns and sensible lines weren’t really a thing, but horse sports could pack out Wembley Stadium:
