Thursday Reader from Devoucoux

Where do I find all these gems? Don’t you want to know!

Happy Thursday, Eventing Nation! As the competition season winds down, and we are all thinking about the holiday season, how numb our toes are when we ride, and how much we wish we could join those lucky ones in Florida, it’s time to appreciate the hard work of the chinchillas here at Eventing Nation. I mean, really, how else would you survive the dark and cold winter months without daily entertainment and bizarre news from around the world? We scour the internet daily just for you, our faithful readers, and the chinchillas work overtime during the holidays to make sure that you don’t get the wintertime sadness! Don’t you feel loved?!

News From Around The Globe:

The New York Times recently wrote a piece on the evolution of Show Jumping, and it’s actually pretty on point. While it does lament the loss of the Thoroughbred in the sport, it points to legitimate reasons within the changing nature of Show Jumping. The jumps are higher, more vertical, and the poles are lighter. The room for error is less, and therefore the specialized breeding and cost of a top level show jumper has increased dramatically. [NYT Show Jumping Evolution]

Pippa and William Funnell are making a stand against inhumane treatment of horses in slaughterhouses in Britain. They just handed a petition to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs demanding that all slaughterhouses have closed-circuit televisions and release the footage to the World Horse Welfare to prevent inhumane treatment. This follows many reports of dissatisfactory behavior, including a slaughterhouse in Cheshire that was clubbing horses with iron bars and leaving them severely injured but not dead.  The Funnells got 43,737 people to sign the petition and hope that it will have an impact on the industry. [Funnells Deliver Slaughterhouse Petition]

Calling all Area II riders and beyond!! Have you seen the ridiculously awesome auction going on right now?? You have a chance to win any of the following: a full vetting with x-rays from Brendan Furlong, a four night stay at the Wyndham Cypress Palms in Florida, an Amerigo Dressage saddle, a lesson with Bettina Hoy, an entry to The Fork Horse Trials, a multi radiance laser and much much more! Seriously, I haven’t seen an auction this good in a long time. Best of all, all proceeds benefit the Area II Young Riders! [USEA Area II Auction]

Speaking of auctions,  the Equine Academy at Lexington Catholic High School is hosting a truly unique, equine-themed eBay auction. If you still have holiday shopping to do, but are reluctant to brave the mall crowds for a traditional, run-of-the-mill gift, be sure to check it out. You could be the lucky owner of a behind the scenes tour of Keenland and a box for the spring 2014 meet, a number of autographed pictures of Gary Stephens, four tickets to the 2014 Alltech National Horse Show, or lunch and golf with Chris McCarron. How cool is that? [Equine Academy Auction]

The USEF has announced Horse of The Year nominations! Sadly, this year there are no Eventing horses included on the list, but there are some seriously impressive animals nonetheless. The six champions have earned their places on the elite list as USEF Horses of Honor, and each will be recognized at the USEF Year-End Awards Gala in January. My pick is A Ruf Gal, a super little chestnut mare who is ruling the reining world with her wicked stops and her impeccable spins. [USEF HOTY]

 

 

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