Photo courtesy of Samantha Clark
I wonder if this cool girl is getting nervous for her big debut on the senior squad.
Good morning Eventing Nation! Well hump day has passed and we are now on the fast. down hill roll to the weekend. With Richland Park only a week away, many riders are gearing up for the trek to Michigan. This weekend will be spent doing last minute preparations and packing trailers for the journey.
Across the very swim-able pond, the European Young Rider Championships are under way. Young Riders in Europe are really luck because they get to go to some really awesome places for their competition. This year the have crossed into Scotland. The British team has been announced and riders will be getting their dressage on today. [British YR team]
I am excited to announce that EN will be hosting a new series shortly. While I can’t tell you what exactly the series is, I can tell you it will be great fun. Get ready for some good discussions and interesting thinking processes. Stay tuned.
There are six events happening this weekend. Here is your chance to get a head start on results stalking:
Caber Farm HT [Live Scores]
The Event at Goose Downs [Live Scores]
Erie Hunt and Saddle Club HT [Live Scores]
The Professional Horseman’s Council is always hard at work. Recently, they have decided to revise a rule that already existed. This rule revising is for an update on rider reps. As it has been, rider rep’s at events were asked when they arrived if they were willing to be a rider rep. Naturally, all riders will say yes. But with their busy schedules of walking courses, helping students, and riding their own horses, were they really able to “be” a rider rep? The PHC came to the conclusion that the rider rep needs to have more pressure put on them while not causing the officials or secretary and more pressure. The rider reps will now be required to find and fill out paper work. Also, there will be a course walk with the officials. Questions have been raised, but the PHC wants to put out this message:
“We worked exceptionally hard on this program with as many different groups as we could. The rule was revised no less than 12 times. It truly was a collaborative effort. Add to the above due diligence the rule change process that was followed and it is hard to believe anyone can be surprised this rule will be coming into effect next year. Those who claim that they had no idea this rule was changed have simply not been paying attention. We must never forget that we are all in this sport because of our love of horses. It is this common passion that brings us all together. The riders have shown that they are willing to step up and take on more responsibility at the competitions. Now we are asking for our officials to respect our request and allow us the opportunity to make this rule work. We all have so much to gain by increasing our communication with each other. ” [PHC]
While European YR’s are competing this week, next week plays host to the Senior European Championships. Unfortunately, Polly Stockton has had to withdraw her mount, Westwood Poser, off the list. Polly will replace him with Regulus. The squad has been named but team members and individuals will be picked after the first trot up. [Senior Squad]
PRO Blog: Bittersweet Ending
Lauren Shannon is having a rough lead up to Burghley. Touch wood, the horse is great. It is her arm that seems to be the problem. After fracturing it two weeks ago, she is in a cast. Despite the fracture, Lauren is lightly schooling her Burghley mount. The cast is scheduled to come off next Thursday. This will give her a little more time in the tack. Her dog, who was jealous of all the attention on the fractured arm has decided to have a little mishap of his own. Both Lauren and the dog are sorted and Burghley bound. [Lauren Shannon]
Best of Blogs: Starfire Eventing
The Brits are always put near the top of the list of favorites to win a championship. And for the Senior Europeans, it is no different. With a lot of solid 4star pairs, they are bound to have a good performance. But would it have been smarter to leave horses like Opposition Buzz and Jakata off the list? Perhaps save them for the Olympics. Maybe they should have given another newcomer a chance. It all makes for good discussion. [Europeans]
Clark Johnstone has had one heck of a year. And now he is on the verge of making Kiwi history. Clark is looking in fine form to become the first ever kiwi to win the World Cup series. Clark is leading the series ahead of Chris Burton by 10 points. [World Cup]
Reasons why you should never give the gun to the monkey:
Keep your guns away from your monkeys today, folks. Happy Thursday! Go Eventing.
