Pony friends! Photo by Balmoral Farm.
It doesn’t matter if you’re an eventer, you should be paying attention to Pony Finals this week in Kentucky. If you don’t, you’re missing out on probably the highest dose of cute you’ll get all year, and that would truly be a crying shame. When I was a kid I fantasized about being small enough to ride ponies forever, and honestly I get that feeling every time Pony Finals come around. WHY are they so darn cute?!
National Holiday: National Frozen Custard Day
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Feather Creek Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
GMHA Festival of Eventing H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Otter Creek Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Woodside Summer H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Area VII YR Benefit H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]
Fair Hill H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
WindRidge Summer H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Spring Gulch Summer H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Applewood Farm FEH/YEH & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times] [Live Scores]
News From Around the Globe:
After taking team silver in eventing and bronze in dressage, Brazil capped an unforgettable two weeks at the 2019Pan American Games with a gold medal for its jumping squad. Mexico and Canada also clinched Olympic qualification slots, finishing in 2nd and 4th place respectively. The U.S. squad won bronze. [Pan American Games Lima 2019: Brazil punches ticket to Tokyo with team gold]
Tony Kennedy and Westeria Lane have been added to the Irish Eventing squad for the upcoming 2019 European Eventing Championships which take place in Luhmühlen from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. The news comes after it was confirmed that Clare Abbott will miss the championships after her horse Europrince picked up an injury. The updated squad is Cathal Daniels riding Rioghan Rua, Sarah Ennis riding Woodcourt Garrison, Ciaran Glynn riding November Night, Tony Kennedy riding Westeria Lane and Sam Watson riding Imperial Sky. [Horse Sport Ireland]
Speaking of Pony Finals, one entry this week has a completely different background than most. Brownie Points, ridden by Samantha Hulbert, is a mustang from Bald Mountain, Nevada who was picked out of a field by head trainer Beanie Cone on a whim. Not only that, but 11 months after Duck arrived in the barn, she gave birth to a surprise foal, who they named Duckie! After her unusual beginnings in the hunter ring, Duck and Samantha have qualified for Pony Finals this week, ready to ride with the best of them. [Hulbert & Her Mustang Have A Wild Ride]
Unfortunately, Julia Krajewski and Samourai du Thot are out of contention for the European Championships. The pair was a strong bet for individual medals in the upcoming championships, but Sam was withdrawn from Aachen with a stone bruise a few weeks ago, and hasn’t recovered in time to be prepared. Despite this, Germany has named a squad of 12 that should have anybody quaking in their boots. [Germany Names European Championship Squad]
If you’ve been in the horse world for a while, either you or somebody you know has been affected by kissing spines. A horse with this condition feels consistent, low-grade pain because the spinous processes, or sections of bone attached to the vertebrae, are too close together and impinge on each other. Sometimes this can impede their ability to do certain jobs, and sometimes it’s manageable and these horses go on to compete at the highest levels. Learning more about this condition will definitely help you in the now and maybe in the future. [All You Need to Know about Kissing Spines]
