Big sky country lives up to it’s name! Photo courtesy of Brittany Caroline.
Okay, so I didn’t get to go to Montana this year (it’s still on my bucket list obviously), but I am flying to Ireland today, so I guess that is an acceptable swap. Catch me next weeks gawking at the Cliffs of Moher, galloping Connemara ponies across the beaches, and maybe possibly building a love for Guinness. That last part is….questionable to be honest, I’ve never really understood drinking a loaf of bread.
U.S. Weekend Preview
The Event at Rebecca Farm (Kalispell, MT): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scoring] [Volunteer] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Instagram]
Course Brook Farm Summer H.T. (Sherborn, MA): [Website] [Entry Status] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Full Moon Farms Aloha H.T. (Finksburg, MD): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]
Silverwood Farm Summer H.T. (Camp Lake, WI): [Website] [Scoring]
News From Around the Globe:
Joan Harper is a committed rider, eventing volunteer, and course decorator that has been in love with horses since she was a child. She started out trail riding for fun before she’d even made it to grade school and was serious about horses by high school. However, while participating in a few unrecognized events, it wasn’t until her 30’s that she was introduced to the sport of eventing when her daughter joined the local Pony Club. From there, she started learning all she could; stating, “I tell people that at 50, I started my second childhood with eventing. [VIP Volunteer: Joan Harper]
Sometimes with weddings, it’s not about the venue or the catering or the dress. Sometimes it’s about the timing, and newlywed dressage riders Katherine Abrams and Molly Ryan can agree on that. So on Saturday, July 16, during the bustle of the Dressage at Lexington horse show, amid a cluster of friends, family and decorations in Barn 2 at the Virginia Horse Center’s stabling, which one passer-by briefly mistook for a stall-decorating contest, the professional trainer and the amateur dressage rider were married in a ceremony officiated by a fellow trainer. The moment was fitting for a couple so dedicated to dressage; the timing of that moment was more solemnly intentional. [Get Me To The Barn On Time: Dressage Riders Wed at Dressage at Lexington]
Best of Blogs: Sea Of Clouds’ Journey and What It Means for Thoroughbreds
A lameness exam can help you decide in the purchase of a horse, but it’s not really a fail/pass scale. The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has a beneficial lameness scale used by veterinarians to determine the grade of a horse’s lameness. Veterinarians will begin a lameness exam by watching the horse’s gaits and understanding the horse’s history, including how long the lameness has been going on, breed, workload, age, has the owner medicated the horse, and has that helped, among other factors. Then, the veterinarian will watch the horse at a jog, use hoof testers, and perform palpations, flexion tests, or other diagnostic procedures. [Lameness Exam Video with Dr Evan Becker]
