Game face much? Photo courtesy of Jennie Saville.
Spring might mean many things to different people but to me, it means one thing. Okay, maybe two. Mowing and weed-whacking. I spend more hours mowing in the spring than doing pretty much anything else (except riding of course!) and I finally got myself a battery powered weed-whacker (highly recommend) which is super lightweight and means I’m not dying of shoulder soreness after taking care of the fence lines. I am, however, still vibrating from mowing my top fields for several hours.
U.S. Weekend Preview
Tryon International Three Day Event (Mill Spring, NC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]
Galway Downs Spring H.T. (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Hitching Post Farm H.T. (South Royalton, VT) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times / Scoring][Volunteer]
Majestic Oaks Ocala H.T. (Reddick, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Plantation Field H.T. (Coatesville, PA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Spokane Sport Horse Spring H.T. (Spokane, WA) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times / Scoring][Volunteer]
Winona Horse Trials (Hanoverton, OH) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times / Scoring] [Volunteer]
News From Around the Globe:
Thoughts on the action at Badminton….Mark Phillips has some. Namely, he thinks that horsemanship and standards of riding are declining in his opinion. In the case of certain individuals, I definitely agree. However, I saw some excellent horsemanship as well last weekend. [Mark Phillips Dissatisfied With Equestrians of Today]
The Tryon International Spring Three-Day Event is next up on the busy spring calendar. Held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina, this year’s top division, the CCI4*-L, features a group of 20 pairs, many who are coming from their final prep run in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S (Lexington, Kentucky) two weeks ago. The event also features a CCI1*-S, CCI2*-L, CCI2*-S, CCI3*-L, CCI3*-S, CCI4*-S, and an Advanced division for a total of 169 entries. Get to know all your fast facts before the action begins today! [Tryon International Fast Facts]
Kelly Prather has had a wild journey in her riding career. From leadline ponies in California, to obtaining her British Horse Society Qualifications in England, to helping Carol Gee establish the now well-known Fernhill Sport Horses, to competing at the World Cup Eventing Finals in Poland, to working for William Fox-Pitt, all the way to sourcing and producing incredible upper-level horses in Florida. I mean….I even left out some of the cool stops on the way and that already sounds like a hell of a career! [Kelly Prather’s Eventing Journey Around the World]
New scientific research is challenging what many think is absolute truth about the right age to begin working a horse. The most common area where tw0-year-olds have a job is the racing industry, and racing 2-year-olds is sometimes viewed as rushing young horses that aren’t yet physically mature. Some people, both in racing and in other disciplines, believe horses shouldn’t compete until they’re older. Scientific research, however, is telling us exactly the opposite. Horses generally develop stronger and stay sounder if they begin training and racing at 2, provided trainers tailor schedules appropriately for each individual. [Developing Young Racehorses]
