Monday News & Notes

By on Oct 5, 2020 3:57 am -

This year, I’ve found myself getting curiously homesick for places I only visit in passing — places I trek to once, maybe twice, a year for events. But although eventing travel is quite different from any other, more ‘regular’ form of travel, it’s a type of nomadism that requires you to completely immerse yourself in your destination, entering the bubble for a week before resurfacing in the real world. And so home becomes that one spot by the arena where you know you’ll get the perfect extended trot photo; it becomes that one petrol station near the event entrance that sells a damn good stroopwafel; it becomes the daily mispronunciations and mime act you undertake to try to order lunch at an event where you have no common language with the vendors. I’ve missed all that ephemera so much in 2020 — to say nothing of the competitions themselves.

Enthusiastically watching Luhmühlen’s German Championships over the weekend felt like a tonic and a tease all at the same time, but I’ve been letting myself lean into the nostalgia — and thankfully, everyone is unified in their gratitude for getting to be back out and about, so Instagram has been heaving with glorious shots from around the event, like the one above. I’m more conscious this year than ever before of how much smaller we’re able to make the world through the power of social media — and through the generosity of sharing each other’s joy.

National Holiday: It’s World Teachers’ Day. Take a second to say thanks to the horsey teachers — both two- and four-legged — in your life.

US Weekend Results:

UK Weekend Results:

Global Eventing Roundup:

  • The German Championships took place at Luhmühlen and boy, did they deliver in the excitement stakes: 20 penalties for fischerChipmunk! A showjumping refusal for SAP Hale Bob OLD! Pau entries throwing our form guide predictions into disarray! In a lovely twist, mum and daughter duo Ingrid Klimke and Greta Busacker took the German National Championship and Junior National Championship titles, respectively. Check out EN’s coverage here.

  • Meanwhile, Bromont hosted a home international with a small but competitive CCI4*-S class as the showpiece. The foliage also played a starring role — as did Jessica Phoenix, who was 5/7 of the entries in the CCI4*-S and, possibly unsurprisingly, the winner. Our favourite moment? The unity and love shown by the Holly Jacks Eventing Team, who all wore cross-country shirts in memory of Zara Buren.

Your Monday Reading List:

If you like a sci-fi element to your sport horse breeding programme, you’re in luck: researchers in Argentina have developed the first genetically-modified equine embryo. Though this is an early step on a long road, it could be the advent of ‘designer’ sport horse foals. Of course, the conversation around this topic likely won’t just linger on the wholly scientific — there are plenty of moral implications to think about, too. [Genetically modified horse embryo tech could be used to enhance performance]

Did you dabble in the virtual training trend that was part of peak lockdown? The FEI’s caught up with a handful of riders and coaches who added this novel form of coaching to their repertoire in 2020 to find out how it helped them, what their setup was, and whether they’ll keep using it to nail those marginal gains. [The Rise of Online Coaching]

Racing was a ‘job for the boys’ for a long time — but the 1960s saw a major shift occur. In this first part of a new four-part series, the Paulick Report looks at Kathy Kusner’s historic legal battle to become a licensed jockey. It’s fascinating reading, so make sure you’ve got a fresh mug of coffee ready. [Right To Ride, Presented By The Kentucky Derby Museum: 1960s Set The Stage For Women To Enter The Jocks’ Room]

There’s no time limit on dreaming, and there definitely isn’t one on having a bloody good time. Susan De Jong — recent winner of a BN division at Woodside — proves just that. [Now On Course: The Galloping Grandma!]

Video Break:

Someone get these kids an Oscar.