Thursday News & Notes from Taylor Harris Insurance Services

Two photos taken seconds apart.

I have this quiet theory that my horse Turkey is in fact a secret mental case, wrapped in a very cute outer coating. He’s actually got a really good brain, but he also has multiple personalities and a horrible case of ADD which make him a little, uh, interesting to deal with. He can go from being a complete slug to broncing around with little to no reasoning, and loves to stand dead still and cutely quiet in the field only to whip into one of the craziest wild stallion rears and then land grazing like nothing happened. Luckily yesterday I had my phone camera ready, so I could catch the magic.

National Holiday: National Book Lovers Day

Major Events This Week:

Hartpury International [Entries] [Results]

Strzegom Summer Tour [Start Times and Live Scoring]

FEI Nations Cup at Haras du Pin [Start Times and Live Scoring] [Live Streaming]

U.S. Weekend Preview:

GMHA Festival of Eventing August H.T.  [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Fair Hill International H.T.  [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Scores]

WindRidge Farm Summer H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Otter Creek Summer H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

The Summer Event at Woodside [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Area VII Young Rider Benefit H.T. [Website]

News From Around the Globe:

Blythe Tait made his (hopefully) triumphant return to a championship level team with the naming of the New Zealand WEG crew. Fourteen years after “retiring” from eventing, the Olympic champion is heading to Tryon with Dassett Courage alongside Mark Todd, Tim & Jonelle Price, and Dan Jocelyn. Maybe he and Mark can reminisce about their time at the first ever WEG in Stockholm in 1990 where Blythe won individual and team gold… 28 years later…[Blythe Tait Makes His Comeback]

Ever wondered why Lauren Kieffer’s WEG mount Vermiculus is nicknamed “Bug”? Wonder no more, my friends. COTH takes us behind the stable door with the funniest little Anglo-Arabian eventer who shot to fame this year with his gutsy performance and a fifth place finish at Land Rover Kentucky, and stole our hearts with his model good looks. [Behind the Stall Door: Vermiculus]

Ready to hone your show jumping skills? In this week’s educational video, Boyd Martin has riders jump a vertical on a figure-8, turning first right then left, and making sure to simply open the rein and look in the direction of the turn instead of leaning into the turn over the fence. Martin offers advice to each of the riders on how to improve their position, encouraging them to resist the temptation to twist and to use a soft opening rein to turn and keep the horse balanced. [Eventing Training Online]

US Equestrian will officially kick off its new Safe Sport awareness campaign, #YouAreNotAlone, during Pony Finals. They are inviting members and media to attend a Safe Sport Town Hall meeting on Friday, August 10, at 4:30 p.m. EST during the 2018 USEF Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm. The town hall will take place in the Kentucky Horse Park’s Covered Arena, in the second-floor lounge at the far end of the arena, directly opposite the in gate. [US Equestrian Safe Sport Awareness]