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Wow, wow, wow: if Italian Olympian Vittoria Panizzon ever needs an extra bod to ride out with her on fitness day, sign me up. She posted these videos of gallop day up the Malvern Hills in England’s Cotswolds region, where she’s based, yesterday — and I haven’t stopped watching them since. What an extraordinary spot, but also, what a serious, serious set of hills — I’d love to stick a heart monitor on these guys for a few weeks and see how quickly, and how robustly, they get fit with terrain like that to work over. (I’d also love to see if my local Italian chain restaurant would serve me on horseback, but I suspect I know the answer to that one…)
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Hunt Club Farms H.T. (Berryville, VA): [Website] [Ride Times] [Rider Status] [Volunteer]
Otter Creek Spring H.T. (Wheeler, WI): [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scoring]
Fair Hill International Recognized H.T. (Elkton, MD): [Website] [Ride Times] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]
Chattahoochee Hills H.T. (Fairburn, GA): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scoring]
Spring Gulch H.T. (Littleton, CO): [Website] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]
News From Around the Globe:
Piggy March’s latest column for Horse&Hound reflects on a couple of weeks of five-star action. In it, you’ll discover why she thinks Ros Canter is the ultimate eventer, what she reckons about the goings-on over at Kentucky, and why we might be doing our horses more harm than good by being too precious about the footing we choose to run in. Read it here.
Area I might often feel a bit overlooked in the grand scheme of US Eventing. But it shouldn’t be: it’s where the sport began in the USA, after all, and its rich history also lends itself to some brilliant extant events these days. Get to know the lay of the land, plus what Area I denizens can look forward to, in this round-up from the USEA.
After a scary fall at Kentucky last year, Ashlynn Meuchel made the tough call to step away from upper-level eventing. Now, she and her great partner Emporium — plus a growing string of other horses — can be found in the jumper ring, aiming for the top level and those prestigious Grands Prix under the lights. The Chronicle caught up with her to find out what prompted the change, and how she’s getting on in her new career. Check it out!
We all enjoy a joke about a tricky mare – but could we be harming ourselves in the process? Equine psychologist and researcher Antonia Henderson worries that that may be the case as memes become the most popular form of currency on social media. Though we all know that the jokes are meant with fondness and a touch of irony, could the outside world perceive images of horses in distress as flippancy from the people responsible for their care? Read her food for thought here.
