Given that I’m taking a hiatus from English (and my eventing dreams) to cowgirl up and try out Western for a while, I’m totally here for Road to the Horse, a competitive colt starting competition which focuses on effective horsemanship with trust and unity at the heart of the process.
And it’s particularly exciting for eventing fans this year given that 4* eventer Tik Maynard will be amongst the elite ranks. Read what Tik had to say about his foray into Western horsemanship when EN’s Veronica Green-Gott caught up with him here.
Road to the Horse starts on March 21st and runs over four days. You can check out the schedule here and meet the competitors here. There will be a livestream of the event, which you’ll find me glued to – we’ll bring you the link as soon as it’s available.
Cowboy up, and go eventing!
U.S. Weekend Preview
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
Full Gallop Farm March I H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]
SAzEA Spring H.T. (Tucson, AZ) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Southern Pines H.T. I (Raeford, NC)[Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
International Events
Land Rover Horse of the Year (Hastings, New Zealand) [Website] [Program] [Equestrian Schedule] [Eventing Schedule] [Eventing Live Scores] [Live Stream]
Thursday News and Reading
Starting today on H&C+ – Cobs Can Go Eventing. Inspired by Morven Richie’s #SuperCob, Star X, the 14.2hh 20-year-old who took on Badminton Grassroots last year with all the feathered flair of a horse who absolutely can event, H&C+ brings us a new show all about eventing cobs. ‘Mikey’ captured the imagination of all of us who have cobs in our barn, with the #CobsCan initiative from British Eventing highlighting the surprising versatility of the breed. Packed full of training tips and information, I’ll be tuning in for sure – with visions of flying over the finish line on my hairy guy dancing before my eyes.
From one # to another – Steffen Peters talks taking dressage viral at Tokyo with #RaveHorse, Paris hopes, and more. Find out which horse brought the Olympic team silver medalist his favorite moment, and which comes a very, very close second; what happened when comedian and actor Kevin Hart asked for a photo op aboard ‘Mopsie’ (AKA Suppenkasper AKA Rave Horse); what advice Steffen has for adult amateurs in the sport, and how his hobby of flying model airplanes happened – all this and more in this Q&A with the Rave Horse rider himself.
Call out for creative writers! The Plaid Horse Equestrian Voices Creative Writing Contest is open for submissions. The theme is ‘A trainer who has made a significant impact on your life’, although this is a guide and all well-written articles will be eligible to win the $5,000 Grand Champion prize. So flex those fingers, get to typing, and good luck! The deadline for submissions is July 1st.
My horse has an almighty fart-powered flying buck that he breaks out from time to time – and when he does, he’s always letting me know that something’s not quite right with him. Sure, there are horses that buck for joy – I’ve had one of those too – and we’ve all almost certainly seen this kind of kicking up the heels shenanigans going on in the field, but bucking under saddle is something that should be looked at. Here are 9 physical and behavioral reasons that may lie beneath the buck.
AI is out there chatting **** about horses – but what does it really know? Tilly took the words right out of my mouth the other day when she vehemently and eloquently expressed her feelings towards the use of AI in the creative industries. And it seems we’re not alone. Horse Network’s #HorseWordNerd Rebecca Berry chimes in with her take on AI’s offerings for equestrian writing, summing the whole thing up as only a human would: “May the living brain continue to reign supreme”. Hear, hear!
Miranda Lambert reveals the inspiration behind her clothing and lifestyle brand Idyllwind – a feisty red-headed Welsh Cob who taught her how to ride. Honoring the inspirational equine in an Instagram post, the country singer proves that being brave, taking chances and trying new things no matter where you are in life – she started riding aged 30 – can lead to dreams coming true.
And finally, in case you were wondering, the moon phase at the time of conception has no impact on the sex of a foal (or likely any other species). This old wives’ tale has been proven to be just that, with researchers looking at over 65,000 examples and coming to the conclusion that there’s generally a 50/50 chance when it comes to whether a filly or colt emerges from its dam. You don’t say.
Video Break
Right now my trainer’s totally into yelling at me for my math skills (also my riding, but mainly my math). He’s not the first person to tell me my math’s sketchy. I just wish he’d test me on my punctuation instead – I’d have a fighting chance at passing that test.
