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This week marks the end of Defender Blair Castle International Horse Trials after 50 years on the eventing calender and 35 years of international competition. Moving forward, the land will be used in a regenerative agriculture initiative involving year-round management which doesn’t line up with hosting the horse trials. It’s a great loss to eventing, although there’s a new event coming to town – Scone Palace has stepped up and will be home to an international 4*-L event next August, which will also incorporate the Scottish Grassroots Championships.
For now though, we get to enjoy the glory of the Blair Castle grounds one last time, and with a roster of a whopping 400 competitors set to descend on the Scottish estate, including Paris team bronze medalist Japan’s Ryuzo Kitajima (above), World No. 1 Tom McEwen, Ros Canter with her Pau 5* winner Izilot DHI, Badminton winners Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier, former Ros Canter ride Pencos Crown Jewel with new pilot Millie Juleff, US interest in Zach Brandt and Grace Taylor, as well as a whole bunch of Burghley entrants. Unfortunately, there’s no live stream from the event this year, but keep it locked onto EN for a full round-up report headed your way.
Also, check out this cool find – the event program from the first ever Blair Horse Trials, including none other than William Fox-Pitt’s uncle on the start list:
US Weekend Preview
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]
Shepherd Ranch Pony Club H.T. II (Santa Ynez, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Town Hill Farm H.T. (Lakeville, CT) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
UK International Events
Blair Castle International (Perthshire, Scotland) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
European International Events
Lisgarvan House International (County Carlow, Ireland) [Website] [Entries] [Scoring]
Thursday News and Reading
First up, a couple of notices:
Sport Horse Nation is looking to add several new part-time team members. As the world’s largest event horse marketplace run by chinchillas, Sport Horse Nation has changed little since its founding just after the invention of the internet. The SHN team is working on some exciting upgrades including a redesign to fulfill its mission of helping eventers everywhere find their unicorn. If you are familiar with newfangled human toys like YouTok and FaceTube, or have other suitable skills to aid our internet takeover, please shoot us an email with subject “Big Chinchin” to [email protected].
Call-out for ENers to share your hustles. We get it, horses are spensy. So how do you hustle to pay for your horsey habit? Do you work at your barn? Groom on the weekends? Sell your kidney? Whatever you do to afford your horse, we want to hear about it! We’re putting together an article on various ways equestrians have hustled so they can afford to keep horses in their lives. Help a girl out, maybe learn a new hustle from someone else. Tell us all in the comments on this post. *Comments may be featured in an article on Eventing Nation!*
Live stream headed your way from the USEA American Eventing Championships. Beginning Tuesday August 27 and running through Sunday September 1, Kentucky Horse Park will play host to the AECs and you can watch it all via H&C+. USEA members can get a 15% discount on annual H&C+ memberships – login to your account to access the code and sign up.
Meet bronze medal volunteer, Robert Chick, who’s not horsey per se, but has found his family in the eventing community. Penned by our very own Veronica Green-Gott, this enjoyable insight brings together the spirit of eventing and the volunteers that make our world go round.
More horsey goodness coming your way – The FEI Solidarity program has been working with the Libyan Equestrian Federation to bring horses to children who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to interact with these marvelous creatures. Focusing specifically on working with orphaned children and children with autism, the organizers have seen first-hand the enormous impact equines can have in so many ways. Read more here.
And finally, an emotive tribute to horseman and show jumper Henrik von Eckermann, whose Paris didn’t go to plan but whose horsemanship won the day. The utter disappointment was palpable when Henrik took a shock tumble from King Edward in what was to be the superstar horse’s last Olympics, but what came next is the picture that will be etched into the history of the sport, the pinnacle of a hugely successful career which ended in a showing of love and respect for the horse. This letter to Henrik from his many grateful fans details the high highs of his career and care for King Edward and reminds us all to always think of our horses first, over and above accolades and titles and medals and ambitions, and strive to do better for them every day.
Sponsor Corner
We’re only 3 months away from another set of horses trotting down the scenic jog strip at TerraNova! Entries for the Event at TerraNova open on October 1st. Will you be there? With divisions from Starter all the way up to CCI4*-L, there’s something for everyone at TerraNova. Find the details here.
Video Break
It’s almost time for the alternative Burghley course walk! Over the years we’ve seen bikes, Gurkhas, dogs, parkour pros, and a gymnast. Here’s a teaser for what’s in store this time around:
