EN isn’t just your leading source for eventing news, results and commentary; it’s a community where fans of this crazy sport come together to share their war stories. We love hearing from readers and, in turn, sharing your thoughts with the world. All reader submissions are eligible for the Omega Alpha Reader Submission of the Month in which they are published. All winners will receive an Omega Alpha supplement of their choosing. Have something to share with EN? Send it to us at [email protected]!
We would like to congratulate Adam Frizzell on winning the Omega Alpha Reader Submission of the Month for November. Adam sent in a hilarious–and true–list entitled 12 Signs You’re Married to an Eventer. Adam certainly is a good authority on the subject, as he is married to eventer Caitrin O’Shea.
#1. In your wife’s jewelry box, next to all of the expensive jewelry and special keepsakes that you’ve bought her over the years, is a bag of extracted baby horse teeth.
Adam will receive a free supply of an Omega Alpha supplement of his choice for sharing their story. Want to win an Omega Alpha supplement? Send in your story, clinic report, video or other article to [email protected]. If it’s published this month, it will be eligible for December’s giveaway. (Month to be determined by date of publishing, not date of submission.) Many thanks to Lucy for writing and to Omega Alpha for supporting Eventing Nation. Go eventing!
Here are some other notable reader submissions from the month of November:
Best Memorial Piece: “One Last Gift From the Little Horse” by Carol Kozlowski
“One last ride, one last gift. Go Bragh was peacefully laid to rest a few days later. I’ve ridden horses with more talent but none with more try or dignity. I’m so grateful to have had him in my life and to have had the opportunity for a very special goodbye.”
Best Clinic Report: “William Fox-Pitt’s Ontario Clinic” by Denya Massey
“At the end of the day, we were left with a feeling of the most basic principles being possible – understanding your horse’s point of view, respecting what the horse can do, set parameters of behavior, creating and maintaining a plan to give the horse structure, and lots of walk, the forgotten gait! What sticks with me particularly is not what he said or didn’t say, it was his attitude of calm, patience, and his expectation of and compassion for the horse that I’d like to emulate.”
Best Commentary: “A Spectator’s Perspective on Event Profitability” by Michelle Matschke
“Encourage them to bring family members and have a picnic. Know any single guys? Draw them in with tales of white breeches and fit girls. Talk it up. They will enjoy themselves, even if you deceived them a little about the “quality” of that food stand cheeseburger. We must stop hiding our amazing little horse world from the rest of society — they’ll like it, too! Spectating at events needs to be on the “average” person’s weekend repertoire, right next to apple picking and pumpkin carving in the fall; it’s the thing to do!”
Best Editorial: “My Take on the Difference Between US Riders and Those ‘Down Under’” by Lesley Stevenson
“Overall, I suspect that there might be some genetics involved, with the down under riders being sort of “bred” for the sport… with athleticism on a horse just coming more naturally to them. But I do think that some of the factors that I mentioned here contribute to the US having less success in Eventing compared to the Australian and New Zealand riders. And it is never too late to fix that.”