Horses are super majestic. Photo by Kate Samuels.
You probably saw all over equine social media yesterday (and right here in Thursday’s News & Notes!) that yesterday was National Day of the Horse. Ever since National Chocolate Pudding Day 2017 when we started more thoroughly recognizing national holidays here in your daily EN News & Notes, we’ve come across some real gems. Generally, it’s all light-hearted fun and we get a good chuckle out of some really random ones, but National Day of the Horse? This is serious business. I had to do some digging to find out how this hallowed day came to be.
It turns out that National Day of the Horse is legitimately a national holiday — not just some random day designated by an organization for the sake of promotion, as is often the case of the “holidays” we mention — and it has the senate bill to prove it. Way back in 2004 Sen. Bill Campbell (R-Colorado) submitted a resolution to declare December 13th the National Day of the Horse as a means of “encouraging the people of the United States to be mindful of the contribution of horses to the economy, history, and character of the United States.” So now you know and you have 364 days to plan your celebrations for next year’s holiday. Ready, go!
National Holiday: National Bouillabaisse Day (See? Random.)
Your Friday News & Notes
Who will be crowned the 2018 EquiRatings Horse of the Year? The bracket of 12 finalists was has been seeded and voting for round one is open now through December 16th! Makes sure you head over to the EquiRatings Facebook page and rock the vote because because there are some really heated matchups! [EquiRatings Horse of the Year]
Do your part in the name of research and take a survey on helmet use! Dr. Koren Ganas of the University of Illinois College of Medicine Department of Health Sciences Education is conducting a brief survey on helmet use in equestrians across a variety of disciplines and wants your feedback! The survey is designed to gather information on riders’ attitudes toward wearing helmets. [Take the Equestrian Helmet Use Survey!]
It really is equestrian award season: Noëlle Floyd has opened up voting for their Best Of 2018 Awards in which you can vote for your favorites in a variety of categories. Eventing is well-represented in the cross-discipline categories. For example: Emma Ford and Courtney Carson are in the running for Groom of the Year (make sure you scroll all the way down to see Courtney’s name), Angela Hislop and Jacqueline Mars are up for Owner of the Year, and both Lainey Ashker and Chris Talley are nominated for Stylish Equestrian of the Year. I am completely torn on that one. [Cast Your Votes For The Noëlle Floyd Best Of 2018 Awards]
Brush up on your knowledge of strangles, equine influenza, vaccinations and more in this episode of SmartPak’s Ask the Vet:
