Horse courtesy of William Funnell, photo courtesy of Carl Hester.
I love that Eventing has gotten so competitive that many of our riders worldwide are branching out into other disciplines in order to hone their craft. What I’d really like is for other disciplines to catch on to the trend as well! Carl Hester is best known for his dressage success, obviously, but good riding is good riding, and he can look perfect over a jump as well. We can all learn something from riding different horses in different situations, and even Olympians aren’t exempt.
U.S. Weekend Preview
Full Gallop Farm January H.T. (Aiken, SC): [Website] [Volunteer]
Rocking Horse Winter I H.T. (Altoona, FL): [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
News From Around the Globe:
It was the year of Will Coleman in 2022, with Dondante bringing home the USEA Horse of the Year title. Will Coleman had a huge 2022 with his string of horses, including a team silver medal at the FEI World Eventing Championship in Italy on Off The Record and top four-star placings with Chin Tonic HS, but it was Dondante whose consistency paid off to earn the USEA Horse of the Year title. While “Al” doesn’t always get the spotlight due to his stablemates’ accomplishments, he firmly established himself as a five-star contender in 2022. He won Carolina CCI4* in the spring, and was 7th at Kentucky and cruised around Maryland easily. [Dondante Brings Home the Awards]
Podcast of the Day: Emma Lomangino & The Journey to 5*
Finishing as the highest placed American in FEI rankings at number five isn’t a bad way to cap off your season. If you’re not sick of hearing about all of Will Coleman’s success yet, COTH caught up with him to learn about his reflections on the season, his hopes for 2023, and how he spends his winter “relaxing”. [Questions for Will Coleman]
Best of Blogs: What Makes a Horse Gaited?
The Virginia Horse Center has secured the date for their spring horse trials! They announced that national and FEI level eventing continues at the VHC under the name of Virginia Horse Center Eventing (VHC Eventing) May 25-28th, 2023. Through the leadership efforts of VHCF Board President Roxanne Booth and CEO Glenn Petty, VHC Eventing has received unanimous approval from the USEF to hold Beginner Novice through Intermediate level horse trials plus CCI 1*L, CCI2-S, CCI3-S and CCI2-L. Leading the team of industry experts is Event Organizer Joanie Morris and the course building team of Tyson Rementer and Levi Ryckewaert, who are busy constructing over 100 new cross-country jumps. [The Future of VHC]
