Photo from Boekelo 2010, via Doug Payne’s dad
Good Morning Eventing Nation! A lot has sure happened since the weekend, and it’s only Tuesday! For starters, John gave me a new column which I’m pretty excited about it as I think it’ll be a really neat series. If you missed reading his post, the column will allow event photographers to submit photos and have their work and a bio featured front-and-center on Eventing Nation. It’s our way of saying ‘thanks’ to the photographers for all they do for us and our sport, and it’s also a great way to support business that are working hard to thrive in the current economic climate. And if you are a photographer yourself, don’t hesitate to send your entries (see John’s post for details) to me at: [email protected]
The other news/happenings from the weekend are many, but we’ll start with the most exciting. Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carniville are currently making the trek over to England, in preparation for the upcoming Burghley Horse Trials. They have headed across the pond a bit earlier than the rest of the US/Canadian crew, and the reason is so that Sinead and Tate can compete at the Hartpury Horse Trials prior to Burghley to clear out the pipes, so to speak, and really get their game faces on for Burghley. Sinead wrote another great blog for the Chronicle yesterday, titled ‘Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow’, it contains some very wise and thoughtful writing, and is definitely worth the read.
Stone Gate Farm Horse Trials in Ohio and this year’s Area VIII Beginner Novice & Novice Championships is offering an Early Bird Discount to all who send in their entries before August 23rd. Stone Gate Farm is run by a great friend of EN, Jackie Smith, who puts on a top class event every year. There will also be prize money awarded to each division, the amount of which depends on the number of entries received as $20 from each entry will be pooled into the prize sum. Don’t miss your chance to participate in this great event! [USEA]
In some troublesome news, British event rider Lucy Wiegersma’s father was injured Sunday in riding lawn mower accident. Hendrick Wiegersma was a big time event rider in the 1970’s, and since then has made his living as a horse dealer, and a very successful one at that. Apparently he was scheduled to have cataract surgery within the next couple days so they are speculating that the accident occurred because Mr. Wiegersma couldn’t see the edge of the 10 ft. drop and accidentally drove the mower over the edge. Lucy said about her father, “He broke his hip, which has been successfully pinned and plated, punctured a lung and has some kidney damage. The worst part are the chemical burns from the petrol — he had 20% burns to his body and had to have a skin graft on his right leg.” We wish Mr. Wiegersma the best of luck in his recovery– which doctors are saying he should make a full one of. [Horse and Hound]
As John mentioned on Saturday, two pairs have been added to the Canadian short list for the upcoming Pan Am Games. They are James Atkinson and Gustav and Jessica Phoenix and Pavarotti. Click here to read the COTH release.
Aussie Sam Griffiths won the Gatcombe Express Eventing Championship over the weekend, and evidently his performances across the board were all quite special. He rode a beautiful freestyle to music, which left many spectators breathless and his competition stunned I’m sure, and it scored a record 7.9. In an excerpt from this Horsetalk article,
“He led from the outset after producing the lowest dressage score of the entire Express Eventing Series 2011 qualifiers, being awarded a 7.9. He then jumped clear in his Cross Country phase, and led into the final show jumping phase. The show jumping proved tricky for some with only two clear rounds, and Griffiths had two poles down, meaning that he had to jump and clear the eraser fence (which is optional but if cleared knocks 4 points of the total score) which he did with ease, clinching the top spot.”
Pictures from the British Open Championships
Show jumping legend Ian Millar won the $90,000 RAM Equestrian Grand Prix on Sunday at the CSI2* Summer Festival in Palgrave, Ontario, aboard the seasoned campaigner and Pan Am hopeful, Star Power. It really was the weekend of the Millars at the Palgrave Summer Festival as Ian’s son Jonathan won the $10,000 Modified Grand Prix on Saturday, aboard Cantero Z. [Horsetalk]
A Must Read: Free Rein with Jimmy Wofford
Best of the Blogs: Equestrian Team GBR: Musings from the Emerald Isle
I think that’s all I have for you right now, Eventing Nation, but be sure to check back soon, the excitement never stops and the news never dies.
