The Chinch as a new Rio 2016 prospect! He’s joining Bella Hadid in a pairs class for Eventing. New sport, y’all.
Dressage Day One: Commence!! The Chinch is very sorry to report that while he was intending to take his new mount to Fair Hill and contest the CCI3* in his quest for Rio, he was unable to reason with the FEI for qualifications of a miniature donkey. While he took his case the the high court, he was unsuccessful and has resigned himself to chinch-bombing every photo he can manage this weekend, and generally wreaking havoc. You were warned.
#DuttaFHI: Website, Entries, Dressage Ride Times, Live Scores, Schedule, Coldren’s Corner, EN’s Coverage, @eventingnation, EN’s Instagram
U.S. Weekend Preview:
The Event at Kelly’s Ford H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]
Fresno County Horse Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
News From Around the Globe:
At only 19 years of age, Emily King is set to make her CCI4* debut at Pau. With bloodlines like hers, we shouldn’t be shocked, but we’re still impressed! After helping to win a team gold medal at the European Young Riders this summer, she’s preparing for the next big step in her career, with her famous mum by her side to cheer her on and give her good cross country advice! Her energy and enthusiasm for the sport is infectious, and we wish her all the best with her first attempt at the level. [Emily Heads to Pau]
Buck and Andrea Davidson are having a busy weekend at Fair Hill, but also looking forward to Monday too. Why is this? Because Monday they find out the sex of their first child together! The couple already made an adorable Facebook announcement, and it’s pretty clear that Buck is excited for this new non-horsey adventure in his life, but they’ve also already allocated an “aged” pony named Sweetums to the job of first pony. [Buck & Andrea Expecting News]
Canadian Eventer Karl Slezak has been short-listed for team competition countless times, and now has his sights set on Rio 2016. Both he and his fiancee, Kaitlyn Hewson, were short-listed for the Pan Ams this past summer, but due to untimely injuries, were unable to compete. While he’s known for his ability to ride the tough characters, his current string of young prospects are real quality, and his hopes hang on a young horse named Fernhill Dutch Design. [Karl Slezak for Canada]
My girl Kristen Carpenter is back with another incredibly insightful and relatable blog for COTH. When it comes experiencing the end of life, one can sometimes find that the joy of living becomes simplified. While there is no doubt that almost every rider does it for joy (certainly not for money!), it can still be easy to get caught up in the machinations of a horsey world, and forget why you started in the first place. I won’t ruin it for you, but Kristen helps to bring us all back to our senses. [Gallop]
Hot on Horse Nation: Mule Wins Race, Exits Stage Rail
KER ClockIt Session of the Week:
This is an Intermediate/** Thoroughbred mare’s session using KER ClockIt Sport. The rider trotted to warm up, then did three 6-minute gallop sets on flat terrain. Overall, the mare spent about 16 minutes of the hour-long ride in the 70-80% heart-rate zone.
The heart-rate zones were developed based on multiple studies conducted at Kentucky Equine Research that have shown that heart rate is highly correlated with both oxygen consumption (aerobic metabolism) and lactate production (anaerobic metabolism) during exercise on a high-speed treadmill. There is a linear relationship between heart rate and oxygen consumption. Conversely, blood lactate accumulation does not rise linearly. Instead, lactate accumulation remains low until the heart rate reaches about 175-180 bpm, which is approximately 80% of maximum, and then lactate increases exponentially as the rate approaches a maximum of 220 bpm.
Being at 80-90% signals the onset of blood lactate accumulation, when there begins to be a significant level of anaerobic energy generation, and 90% represents an intensity that will result in fatigue-inducing levels of lactate accumulation. Read more about KER research and how heart rate can be used as an indicator of fitness.
Get ready!!
