Take two, go
Good Morning Eventing Nation! I’ve been pretty busy lately and it’s been a little while since I’ve been on writing duty, but I have to say that it was a nice change of scenery to be logging onto Word Press for the first time! And after a couple phone calls to John to talk over a couple start up issues, I was off and running with Movable Type happily in the rear view mirror.
So the big news for today is obviously the Fork Horse Trials. A star studded list of entries will attend as always, in preparation for Rolex which is just a few weeks away. A quick run down of the entries: Sinead Halpin and Tate will have their first big run of the season this weekend in the Advanced. Becky Holder has her two greys in the Advanced. Phillip has multiple Advanced entries and three rides in the 3* including Mystery Whisper and Mighty Nice. Will Faudree hasn’t gotten a whole lot of press so far this spring, but he just might after this weekend with three competitive mounts entered in the 3*. Last Monarch, who is one of my personal favorite horses to watch, will be in the 3* this weekend as well. Boyd has all his usual suspects entered as well, Neville, Otis, Ying Yang Yo, you get the picture. It should be a great weekend for eventing whether you are a competitor, spectator, or just watching it all unfold from afar. One name of note is Mandiba, who will be competing in the CIC 2* with Karen, one of her many rides this weekend. [The Fork Ride Times] [LIVE SCORES]
Burnham Market is hosting a horse trial across the pond in which more than 700 horses are entered, including many of the country’s best and brightest. Names on the entry list include Zara Phillips, William Fox-Pitt, Andrew Nicholson, Oli Townend, Pippa Funnell and Piggy French, to name but a few. [Lynn News]
Last weekend in England the Belton Horse Trials took place, which was really the first big run of the season. Aussie Paul Tapner and Inonothing had a great weekend on a comeback rise to take second in the CIC***. Inonothing won Badminton in 2010 but was sidelined all of 2011 with an injury. The young British star Laura Collett was out with her two Advanced rides, Rayef and Noble Bestman, and had two good weekends despite a little bit of rust needing to be knocked off. And-New-Zealand-bred-but-British-based Andrew Nicholson was on form as always, winning one large Advanced section aboard Avebury and coming sixth in another aboard Shady Gray. [Wiltshire Report]
Horsetalk reported yesterday that the late Teddy O’Connor has a new half sibling as of this week. Teddy’s dam, Chelsea’s Melody, at the age of 20, gave birth to a filly by Future Illusion, a promising sire standing in England who is by the famed stallion Fleetwater Opposition. The breeder, P. Wynn Norman, reported that the delivery went smoothly and that the filly is happy, healthy and hopefully going to be the next star. Keep an eye on this one folks, because by the time the filly reaches the height of her career in another ten years or so, Karen probably won’t feel like riding something smaller than the fences they have to jump so this just may be your shot at eternal pony glory if the Chelsea’s Melody/Future Illusion cross is all it’s cracked up to be. [Horsetalk]
In some very sad news, William Fox-Pitt’s retired ride Stunning was humanely euthanized earlier this week at the age of 26. Stunning was a good soldier for William for many years, and although he struggled slightly to make the grade at the four star level, he flourished at the three star level and was even European Champion. After Stunning was retired from competition, William and his owners, the Apter family, gave Stunning to William’s head groom Jackie Potts, who enjoyed hunting him for many seasons. I’m sure the loss will be felt by many of this truly great horse. [Horse and Hound]
Kristin Schmolze could use some help financing her upcoming trip across the pond to Badminton with her veteran partner Cavaldi. A group of her supporters have organized a Silent Auction to benefit Kristin in Oldwick, New Jersey on April 18th. They are trying to pull the event together quickly and are in need of items to be bid on during the Silent Auction. If you have anything you’d like to contribute to the cause, see the link to Kristin’s website for more information. [Kristin Schmolze]
As long as we are on the charitable train of thought, Ecogold recently announced that they will be donating a portion of proceeds from their sales to Henny and Peter Atkins who are on their journey towards Badminton. It’s the perfect time to go buy some fresh saddle pads for the new season and support a great cause. There are few upper level combinations more popular than Peter and Henny, largely because of their story of how they came together from where they were and arrived at where they are now. Go Henny, go Peter, go Ecogold. And don’t forget that you can also still help Peter and Henny by going to their website and purchasing any of the things that they’ll need on the journey, from carrots and apples, to jumping lessons, to chiropractor sessions, to plane tickets. No donation is too small, 0r large either! [Henny]
Best of the Blogs: Tiana Coudray on the first event of the season, her promising new horse, and the odds and ends of a life in England. [Tiana]
That’s all for now Eventing Nation, stay tuned for a great weekend from the Fork and Go Eventing!
