Unfortunately, no, this IS NOT photoshopped.
If you’re not the social media type, or simply haven’t been on Facebook in the past 48 hours, chances are you’re currently looking at the above picture and saying to yourself, “Holy crap, that isn’t real!” However, I bestow upon you the best non-photoshopped ridiculous horse picture that I could possibly find on the internet. This picture is from this past week, and features one jumper rider who looks to be trying out for the Eventing team, and one incredibly over enthusiastic Grand Prix mount with a taste for the extravagant. EN Karma points for the individual who can correctly identify both rider and horse!
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News From Around The Globe:
In what has got to be the most impressive news of the day, the Thoroughbred Dvinsky equalled the most raced racehorse yesterday at Kempton Park in the UK, totaling 217 races. During his career which spans over 10 seasons he has been trained by eight different people, ridden by 44 different jockeys and earned £117,000 in prize money. He has only won 19 of those races, which makes him the most persistent (but not the fastest) thoroughbred out there. He finished a “gallant fourth” yesterday. [Horse Becomes Most Raced Racehorse]
John probably doesn’t want you to know, but he’s featured in this week’s Eventing Radio Show, which talks about the AEC’s, Blenheim and Francis Whittington. Very exciting stuff! [Eventing Radio Show]
Eventing isn’t the only US horse sport feeling a little down after the Olympics, and Dressage Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons will be the first one to tell you. “Our lack of depth in the big tour loomed large, and short of manufacturing new combinations out of thin air, the prospects weren’t looking good. Things did not improve as time went by, comparing what we had at home to what was happening overseas. If there had been an option to sit this one out, I would have suggested it.” [COTH: The Olympics Were Everything We Feared]
In more Dressage news, double gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin is completely heartbroken by the sudden sale of her Olympic mount, Valegro. This horse will be sold along with Carl Hester’s horse Uthopia for a record price tag of £20 million to a rumored Arabian royal who was quite keen to get his hands on the world’s best dancing horses. Part owner Hester is also quite emotional about it, saying that he has owned both horses since they were foals and is very attached to them. (Private edit: I’m sure he’ll be able to sop up his tears with his share of £20 million). [Heart Wrenching Sale of 2012 Wonder Horse]
Scientists in the Czech Republic have been trying for ages to determine what exactly motivates horses to learn. With dogs, we know it’s treats, but horses….much more complicated! Turns out, science has failed on this one. Studies show that “only the assessment of a horse’s good learning ability by a person having a long-lasting relationship with the horse could significantly predict if it would complete the task,” which shows once again that horses do better in a personalized relationship with their trainer. This is why the mass-production, cookie cutter approach with horses simply does not work! [Horse Owners Best Predictors of Equine Motivation]
Are you a normal horse person with an ungodly fear of colic? Me too. Good thing we have SmartPak here to educate us on how to keep our horses from ever having to hear that damnable word coming out of a vet’s mouth. Learn smart tips to reduce your horse’s risk from Dr. Lydia Gray, Medical Director, and Jessica Normand, Senior Director of SmartSupplements, at one of two sessions on Thursday, Sept. 13 (that’s today, folks). [SmartPak Colic Webinar]
In some sad news, Dutch Chef d’Equipe and national jumping coach Sven Harmsen has died at the age of 51 after suffering a heart attack while at the Spruce Meadows competition in Canada. [Dutch National Jumping Coach Dies Suddenly]
Middleburg HT is accepting late entries through September 21st! Good thing because I completely missed that deadline…..[Enter Middleburg HT Now]
Found On Facebook: Apparently Mark Todd has been reading 50 Shades of Grey???
Best of Blogs: Boyd shows off the world’s first rubber jogging strip at Plantation!!
BOB Pt 2: How to do two shows in one week — with COTH blogger Lauren Spreiser
I’m gonna go ahead and apologize in advance for the music on this one….scenes from Blenheim 2012, including XC, high jump, bareback jump, and SJ.
