London 52 celebrating in January of 2020, what’s coming this year? Photo by Laura Collett.
Today, Laura Collett takes her life into her hands and jumps London 52 (Dan) for the first time since his wire-t0-wire victory at the Pau 5* last year. We can hope for some seriously funny videos and screenshots, including lots of bouncing, bucking, kicking, and squealing like a dolphin. Please deliver, Laura, we need that kind of content this week. Dan, you know what to do.
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Barnstaple South H.T.: [Website]
News From Around the Globe:
Check in with Coach Daniel Stewart for your monthly sports psychology workout. Two months ago, there was a conversation about riding rehearsals; using mental imagery to visualize our ride before actually riding. This month we dive into two new unique forms of riding rehearsals that evolved from two equally unique concepts called (1) positive realism: making the best of a bad situation without losing confidence, and (2) probabilistic thinking: identifying possible problems and solving them before they occur. [Pressure Proof with Coach Stewart]
Sara Kozumplik Murphy starts her days at 4:30am, and seems to have something like endless energy. Between early morning workouts, riding horses for herself and her husband, teaching, meeting with various consultants, and working on the computer, I honestly don’t know how she does it. [A Day In the Life: Sara Kozumplik Murphy]
Pony Paradise is my favorite series from the FEI. Not only do you get to snoop inside top level stables for competitive riders all over the globe, but you get to temporarily live in the imaginary world where you design your dream barn, and steal their facilities. [Pony Paradise: Cian O’Connor]
Etalon Diagnostics researchers have successfully determined a strong genetic component to Kissing Spines thanks to the success of their recent Kissing Spines study. Since so many sport horses include Thoroughbred ancestry, they feel an expanded study with a focus on Thoroughbreds is necessary. To do this well, they need to include older horses (9 years and up) with radiographs and diagnostics both horses with and without Kissing Spines. [Kissing Spines Study]
