Thursday News & Notes

The gold medal makes it to the top of the Andes Mountains! Photo courtesy of Karl Slezak.

You know, this photo from Karl makes me think that gold medals should really become traveling gnomes (if you don’t get the reference you clearly aren’t cool enough to have seen Amelie) and be taken on adventures to faraway places. Karl…I’m looking at you! Andes Mountains today, Machu Picchu tomorrow? And Mount Everest? Maybe just the top of the Eiffel Tower, next year 😉

Don’t forget, it’s not too late to win a whole bunch of swag, a cross country schooling pass, donations to your favorite charity and more! All you have to do is volunteer some time to Virginia Horse Center Eventing this weekend! I will be the score running maniac on a golf cart on Saturday, so if you see me, feel free to flag me down for a selfie with the chinch, who will obviously be driving.

U.S. Weekend Preview

Rocking Horse Fall H.T. (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer] [Scoring]

Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. (Tyler, TX) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall (Lexington, VA) [Website] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

News From Around the Globe:

The volume of scientific literature being published on horse welfare has been growing exponentially, and rightfully so. Studies were driven initially by ethical concepts and popular empathy, and later by economic and political interests that have increased around this topic. Initially, welfare was considered as the absence of negative aspects. An animal that was free from hunger and thirst, discomfort, fear, pain and diseases, and with the possibility to express normal behaviour was considered to be in a good state of welfare. But, over the years, researchers started to develop a new and more complete welfare concept, no longer based only on the absence of negative conditions, but inclusive of positive emotions. With this approach, a good welfare status is not only when there are no negative conditions but when the animal has a life worth living. [Horse Welfare Research Booms]

Thoroughbred blood has long been utilized to refine Warmblood breeding for English-based disciplines, adding athleticism, speed and elegance to European breeds that might have otherwise reverted to their draft horse origins. In our sport, we discuss breeding with emphasis on horses’ percentage of “blood” — Thoroughbred blood, with higher percentages of Thoroughbred heritage most desirable for the stamina needed to gallop cross-country. But the Thoroughbred’s influence on performance horse breeding does not stop with the English disciplines. While the American Quarter Horse is considered the defining breed of Western sport and riding, from working ranch animals and cutters to cow horses and barrel racers, the breed is firmly rooted in Thoroughbred heritage — and some intrepid breeders are returning to those roots to enhance their programs, bringing fresh blood to the Quarter Horse breed by echoing history. [Bringing it Back]

Halloween Short Story: The Jimmy Hoofer Case

The best advice I ever got as a young kid was to ride every horse I could get my hands on. My mentor told my mom and me that the horses would teach me more than any coach, and boy was he right! Riding horses that aren’t yours makes you flexible in your methods, and smarter in the way you approach things. Especially if you are going to try to buy a horse any time soon, you’ll want to flex your muscles with the unfamiliar. [Ride Other Horses]

Helmet cam from the only horse to make the time at Pau? Yes please.