Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope your morning is off to a grand start and that you are enjoying this second day of summer. The weather forecast (for most of the East Coast anyway) is calling for a mild high of 92 along with thunderstorms in the afternoon. Don’t forget the sunscreen and the raincoat folks, we’re in for a fun day.
In yet another demonstration of support for the folks at True Prospect, a benefit hosted by Jacqueline Mars and the O’Connor Event Team will be held this Saturday evening at:
Meredyth Farm Pavillion
2814 Logans Mill Road
The Plains, VA 20198
The minimum donation for the fundraiser is $100, with all proceeds going directly to Boyd. There will be drinks, a buffet, both live and silent auctions, and music of course. The party can go no more than 200 people due to catering/ space constraints, so if you are interested in attending, please email Faye Woolf at [email protected]. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up with friends, have a good time, and support a great cause!
Have you ever wanted to joust? How about be on a reality television show? The History Channel is looking for people just like you (If you are over 21, proficient at riding, and are brave enough to consent to getting speared off your horse in the event that you don’t spear the other guy off first). The channel is creating a show called Full Metal Jousters, which aims to “recreate the raw, crushing force of 13th Century jousting battles by arming 16 fierce competitors with lances, 200 pounds of armor and a 2,000-pound war horse — all charging through an arena with one goal in mind… to become champion.” If you are cast in the show and beat out all your other competitors to win the final competition, you walk away with the cool $100,000 prize. Who’s going to be first up to bat for this one? [USEA]
3rd place Rolex finisher Sinead Halpin is currently looking for a working student for the summer and into the fall. According to her head girl Meg’s blog, “The position is a rare learning opportunity of fun and awesomeness for really really ridiculously good looking people that read good” If your name is Derek Zoolander, or you otherwise fit the requirements of being a hard working, personable individual with a strong desire to learn, contact Meg to schedule an interview.
British rider Matthew Wright claimed his second Express Eventing win yesterday at Lincolnshire. I’m not exactly sure how the Express Eventing scoring works, but Wright won with a 4.5 penalty score, ahead of Fiona Hobby who scored an 8.15 for second place. He took away a £3000 prize with the win, and also earned his qualification to contest in the £40,000 Express Eventing Series Final at the Horse of the Year Show later this season. [Horsetalk]
In some news of good cheer, Amber Heinztberger gave birth yesterday to a baby boy. You’ll probably recognize Amber as the PR agent/website mastermind for Boyd Martin and also our friends at Ecogold. Boyd’s website/blog is one of the best in Eventing and certainly the most well maintained, and Amber is to thank for that. Congrats on the new arrival Amber! EN baby karma is with you. [Ecogold]
The Cobblestone Farm Horse Trials is accepting late entries. Cobblestone is an excellent local event in Dexter, Michigan, held on the weekend of July 8th. The event goes from Preliminary level down to Starter, which is an unrecognized division and an excellent introduction to Eventing for both horses and riders just starting out. [USEA]
Dressage competitions in Kazakhstan don’t normally get a whole lot of attention here on Eventing Nation, but today is the exception as the Kazakhstanians (Yes John, I’m aware that is a misspelling) dominated on their home turf at the Central Asia Dressage Championships. Sergey Buikevich and Natalyja Yurkevich were the anchors for the teams as Sergey claimed the Intermediate 1 title with Ispovednik while Natalyja clinched the title in the Freestyle Competition with Don Petro. It’s a great thing that competitions at that level, especially national championships, are being held in places like Kazakhstan where Dressage isn’t more than a blip on the cultural radar. [Horsetalk]
Best of the Blogs: Danny Warrington: “Is Luck The Sixth Leg?”
Yesterday’s video was Chinchillas, today is Doug:
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Stay cool today and check back soon for more from John, myself, and the rest of the gang.
Go Eventing.
