Thursday News & Notes from Kentucky Equine Research

When being handsome is sooooo tiring. Photo by Kate Samuels.

Oh my GOD I can’t wait for spring weather to be here. Virginia has been mixing in some delightful weather here and there, and it just makes you that much more resentful of the cold and the rain when it comes back. I spy little bits of green grass coming in, and the horses are shedding out, and I’m just SO READY for it all to be over. I can’t. I literally can’t.

National Holiday: National Horse Protection Day

Ongoing Events:

Full Gallop H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Rocking Horse III H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

Sporting Days H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

Twin Rivers Winter H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Results]

News From Around the Globe:

Almost a year after suffering a stroke while warming up a horse at Carolina International, Peter Barry is back in the saddle. With Phillip Dutton on one side, Richard Picken on another, and Emma Ford leading, Icabad Crane was the lucky horse who got to be the star of Peter’s comeback story. He still suffers weakness on the left side of his body, but was pleased to find that his balance is still good, and 15 hand Icabad was the perfect gentleman. [Peter Barry Back in the Saddle]

Applications and area declarations for the NAJYRC 2018 are due today! If you are a junior or a young rider and thinking about competing in the NAJYRC this year, get your nomination in right now! As somebody who competed in this championship (too man years ago to think about), I highly recommend it. I had an incredible experience and still have friends to this day from my team.  [USEF NAJYRC Applications]

Speaking of young riders….some enterprising young ladies from Area III have already started a fundraiser for their efforts to get to Montana later this summer. They’ve already gathered a big group of stallions to auction off breeding rights at a discounted price in order to help them on their way to championship greatness. Check out this opportunity if you’re interested in breeding sometime soon! [Area III NAJYRC Fundraiser]

 

Schramm Sesh of the Week

Jimmie and Dom Schramm have teamed up with Kentucky Equine Research to provide an inside look into their conditioning program using KER ClockIt Sport. Each week we’ll share an example ride and some notes of what the Schramms look for as their horses progress.

This week’s example session is a dressage school with Jimmie and Eclaire, a 7-year-old German Sport Horse who recently moved up to Prelim.

 

Jimmie hacked over to the arena, schooled for about 20 minutes, then cooled out with a hack around the farm. This was an easy job for Eclaire, whose heart rate stayed below 60% throughout.

Jimmie normally schools Eclaire in dressage twice per week. She sometimes also adds brief focused dressage work on specific test movements into a canter set day. Her routine warmup starts with stretching in the walk and trot, before moving into transitions within the trot. “I spend a lot of time here making sure she is in front of my leg and can come back to me and collect without resistance,” Jimmie said. “Then I normally put her through some lateral work and movements that are in my tests.” After a walk break, she moves into canter work before finishing up with a walk hack around the farm.

Check back next week for another Schramm Sesh! Want to gain insight into your horse’s fitness? Try KER ClockIt Sport. The free app helps take the guesswork out of equine fitness by monitoring heart rate, speed, distance and altitude during rides. EN’s guides to the app explain all the details: 7 Reasons to Download KER ClockIt Sport and How To Get the Most Out of KER ClockIt Sport.