Meet baby Violet! Photo courtesy of Sinead Halpin.
Congratulations are in order for Eventing Super Couple Sinead Halpin and Tik Maynard, who welcomed their second child and first daughter, Violet Kathleen Maynard this week! We can’t wait to see an adorable new pony to accompany her later this year, because that’s the kind of content we all crave. In fact, I only encourage my friends to have babies so we can get them a pony and recreate Thelwell comics in real life.
U.S. Weekend Preview
Stable View Spring 2*/3*/4* (Aiken, Sc.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer] [EN’s Coverage]
Galway Downs International H.T. (Temecula, Ca.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Photographer] [Volunteer]
Morven Park Spring H.T. (Leesburg, Va.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]
Rocking Horse Spring H.T. (Altoona, Fl.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]
News From Around the Globe:
Vacation for our equine partners is often undervalued, but not in Ariel Grald’s program. She makes sure that all of her horses get some version of vacation over the winter, and customizes it for age, breed, fitness levels, and personalities. Some horses prefer to be turned out in a field and left untouched, and some are more eager to maintain light hacking to stave off boredom. Read more to learn how to cultivate your winter vacation to return to competition with a fresh and eager mount. [Winter Vacations Set the Stage for a Successful Season]
After a public complaint from Phillip Dutton over the continued lack of leadership through anointing a new chef d’equipe, USEF Director of Sport Will Connell responded that an interim chef and team manager will be appointed prior to Kentucky, giving them more time to find the perfect fit. In other words, we still don’t have any answers. [Continuing Search for US Chef d’Equipe]
The 2022 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships are less than two months away! This year, the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships will take place on May 21 – 22, 2022 at Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Fairburn, Georgia. All schools including junior colleges and online universities are encouraged to participate and send as many competitors as possible. The event offers Beginner Novice through Advanced level and will run Saturday and Sunday. Like previous years, there will be an opening ceremony, a college town, a spirit award, and an awards ceremony on Sunday. [Intercollegiate Eventing Championships]
Green with envy looking at beautiful toplines and well-muscled hindquarters on other horses? While your fun weekend mount isn’t going to look like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of horses, it’s possible for you to build condition and muscle in almost all horses. And doing so will benefit them greatly. Not only will a well-conditioned horse have better protection against injury and unsoundness, but the variety of work needed to build good overall musculature is great for their development too. So, if you’re hoping to put a bit of bulk on to your horse, here are three exercises you can incorporate into their regime to help things along. [Exercises for Conditioning & Muscle Development]
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