Being the king of the castle is exhausting. Photo by Kate Samuels.
My “retired” advanced horse, Nyls, turned 20 this year, and so I figured it was time to pull his hind shoes and officially try to retire him. However, nobody told him that he is retired and old, and he is rejecting this idea. So, after enduring his escaping escapades for a few months where he runs around the property with his tail in the air, I finally put his hind shoes back on and put him back to work. The level of excitement about wearing tack and going to the ring again was so hilarious and heartwarming. So, we return to work!
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Tryon Fall H.T. (Tryon, Nc.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]
CDCTA Fall H.T.: (Berryville, Va.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]
Chardon Valley H.T. (Decatur, Mi.): [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
Copper Meadows Fall H.T. (Ramona, Ca.): [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times] [Volunteer]
Flora Lea Fall H.T. (Medford, Nj.): [Website] [Entry Status]
News From Around the Globe:
Stable View has instituted a new volunteer rewards system, Very Important Volunteers, in which you can earn points whenever you sign up and help out. We love our eventing volunteers! Click here to learn more.
We all want to know more about On Cue, the surprise success story of 2021. After her impressive performance in Kentucky where she was the dark horse entry for Boyd Martin, she once again exceeded expectations at the AEC just last week. In the barn, Cue isn’t a diva, and isn’t a prissy mare. However, she takes great pleasure in evading capture in the field, to the chagrin of her grooms. [Behind the Stall Door: On Cue]
Sallie Johnson and her Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill DiCaprio were named the reserve champion combination in the Preliminary Rider division at the AEC in which the pair managed to come in only 0.3 points behind the winner. But just in March of this year, Johnson was making an impossible decision – whether or not it was in his best interest to put the gelding to sleep. An aggressive bout of acute enteritis, either having presented bacterially or virally, landed the gelding at the University of Georgia equine medical center for an undetermined amount of time as he was placed in what the clinic deemed to be supportive care. His story of recovery is nothing short of miraculous. [A Modern Day Miracle: One Horse’s Rebound from Near-Death to Near-Champion]
We have a not-so-secret shame in the horse world. Filled with celebrities, and longly considered a sport only for the rich, the backbone of our sports isOur industry is built on the labor of an exploited work force, primarily undocumented immigrants from Central and South America. You see them at every barn and horse show, filling water buckets, wrapping legs, lunging horses in the pre-dawn hours or standing quietly with them as they wait for their rider. While some of these workers are well-paid employees, with compensation befitting their skills and experience, the vast majority are poorly paid, housed in shabby barn apartments, and offered no overtime pay, workman’s comp, paid time off, or health insurance. [The Not-So-Secret Shame of the Horse World]
