(1) With only two rider falls and no major injuries, the Jersey courses all rode safely. To learn from this success, the question to ask is why was this weekend so safe? Here are a few possibilities.
Good course design: we are so quick to blame the course designers when things go wrong that it seems only fair that they get the credit when things go right. The John WIlliams course worked this weekend.
Good riding: one interesting point that John Williams made is that riders were quick to pull up at Jersey and retired after one or two stops. The idea is that the horses who were having bad rounds got off the course before they could have an accident. There was one elimination and seven retires on the XC. Some of this trend to retire earlier comes from the growing tendency to just go to another three-day in the same season if the first one goes poorly.
Good horses: in my opinion, there is at least one moment during every advanced ride where the horse can decide to help its rider out or not. The horses were looking out for their riders this weekend.
Luck: sometimes the tense moments work out, sometimes they don’t–this weekend they did.
(2) Doug Payne used a helmet cam on the CCI2* course aboard Happy Valley:
(3) CCI2* rider Courtney Sendak wore a yellow armband during XC in memory of fallen University of Virginiaa women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who was brutally murdered last week. Yeardley attended Courtney’s highschool, and she was my classmate at UVa.
(4) If the Jersey entry numbers don’t start improving, some major changes will have to be made.
(5)Ringwood Magister is a stunning horse. ‘Finian’ is an incredibly dark grey with a bright white tail, and he’s very well built. I had seen the horse several times before, but I stood right next to him at the jog and it was quite impressive.
(6) I was making fun of New Jersey residents for being rude earlier in the week, but I only met one rude person all weekend. Someone parked their SUV right in front of where I was watching the show jumping from my truck while my computer charged. There were many other possible parking spots, but, needless to say, my polite explanation of what I was trying to do was not received well. But then another person from New Jersey walked up to my truck and apologized for how rude the other person was! Props to New Jersey. I timed it so I didn’t have to refuel my truck in New Jersey to avoid the whole tipping the gas station attendant thing.
(7) I don’t remember if I have said it this week, but thank you to all the volunteers and organizers at Jersey and across all of Eventing Nation this weekend. We can’t say it enough: eventing would not exist without your help.
