Holy cow what a view from Sweden! Photo by Anna Heander.
Yesterday was International Day of the Horse, and I have to say that my local feed store celebrated in the best possible way, by offering $10 off bags of feed! The place was packed, obviously, with all the horse people buying their Christmas presents to themselves with a reduced feed bill. I personally celebrated by allowing my 22-year-old-won’t-retire horse Nyls to keep his ears fluffy for his second clip, and he looks both adorable and insane, but he’s happy, and that’s all that matters.
Major International Events
London International Horse Show (Wednesday December 13th – Monday December 18th) [Website] [Tickets] [Program] [Scoring]
How to Watch: [UK] [FEI Classes: FEI TV (via ClipMyHorse.TV)] [Non-FEI Classes: H&C+]
News From Around the Globe:
No matter how much legislation we put in place, we always have to ask ourselves, how do we encourage good decision making from riders? Whether it was with regard to deciding when to move up or when to continue on if things go awry at a competition, or implementing biosecurity practices, encouraging riders to make good decisions was a huge point of discussion during this year’s U.S. Eventing Association Annual Meeting and Convention, read for the recap and the details here. [Legislating Decision Making]
While the powers of AI seem to be growing by the day, it seems there is still one area that it can’t quite figure out: horses. From five legged equines to heads that seem to be suffering from seriously weird deformations, some of the horse images that AI create are truly hilarious, and worth a good morning chuckle. [AI-Generated Horse Fails]
Archaeologists have used radiocarbon dating to analyze the oldest true wooden frame saddle in East Asia, revealing how the rise of Mongolian steppe cultures was likely aided by advances in equestrian technology. In fact, this saddle signifies the rise of all culture, because what other than the horse helped humans travel the earth, form armies, and conquer new areas? [World’s First Saddle Discovered]
We all do our best to respect ourselves and believe in our abilities, but sometimes it can be a bit harder than we might expect. As a matter of fact, it’s been proven that we respect and believe in others more than we respect and believe in ourselves! After all, you’ve probably never said to a friend after a disappointing ride, “You’re so stupid, what were you thinking”, but there’s a pretty good chance you’ve said something like that to yourself. It’s been said that if we treat others the same way we treat ourselves we’d never have any friends!! [Pressure Proof with Daniel Stewart]
Sponsor Corner: Buy One Iconic Equestrian™ Original 2-in-1 Saddle Pad, Get One Olympic White Saddle Pad FREE!
Save now through December 31, 2023. Both Dressage and Jumping styles are available.
