Buck and Reggie at Badminton last year, photo courtesy of the great Nico Morgan
Good morning Eventing Nation! By the time you read this, the 1st horse inspection at Pau will have already gotten underway, and depending on how early you woke up, the dressage may or may not have begun. WFP starts us off with Chilli Morning at 2pm (8am EST), Andrew Nicholson and Mr. Cruise Control going third, and Mary King going fourth on Kings Temptress. Colleen and Luke ride at 4:32pm (10:32 EST), while Buck and Reggie do not compete until tomorrow at 2:48pm (8:48am EST). Check out Jenni’s preview to know who’s who and what’s what in the CCI4*.
Results from the first horse inspection
The CIC2* already began dressage yesterday, and to nobody’s surprise, Ze Terminator is leading with Fischerrocana FST (say that five times fast) with a 41.0 over American Julian Stiller on Enjoy Me with a 43.4.
Events This Weekend:
Waredaca HT & T3D: [Website] [Entry Status]
Chattahoochee Hills HT: [Website] [Live Scores]
Heritage Park HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
Holly Hill Fall HT: [Website] [Entry Status]
If you haven’t listened the the Eventing Radio Show recently, now is a good time to restart that tradition. My girl Laine Ashker is on with her lovely mom, Valerie, explaining how she got so darn good at finding phenomenal talent off the racetrack and turning it into success in the Eventing arena. If you need more proof, Lainey recently finished 2nd at the AEC’s in the Advanced, and fifth at Fair Hill CCI3* on her dressage score. Waylon Roberts also makes an appearance to talk about the Long vs Short Format discussion. [Eventing Radio Show]
Pau will be available on Live Streaming!! Saturday and Sunday, on FEI TV. Both the CCI4* and the CIC2* will be featured. Woohoo! [Pau Live Streaming Info]
Good news for Darren, he was released from the hospital today, after almost three weeks from the rare and deadly infection fungal meningitis. Darren’s Facebook status today was, “Great news! I get to go home and finish me recovery from there! It willl be a slow couple of weeks, but all is good.” [Get Well Soon, Darren!]
Oh the hardships of Royal life! Kate Middleton has taken up riding despite having a severe equine allergy. After attending numerous equine disciplines at the Olympics, Kate was inspired to take up the royal past time of riding, and even has requested lessons from British Paralympic medallist Lee Pearson. The Duchess of Cambridge has previously displayed an affinity for horses after admitting she was moved to tears while watching the theatre production War Horse. [Kate Middleton The Equestrian]
Ever heard of the Palio race in Siena Italy? If not, you need to check this out. In fact, even if you know about the Palio, you should watch this video. ESPN sends a writer to video and talk with participants, as well as watching the actual race, and it’s completely insane. I think I need to go next year, and write an official EN report, the chinchillas will fund that trip, right? [Palio Race in Italy]
Best of Blogs: Colleen’s groom Lara blogs from France!
Do you have a skinny phobia? Let Evention help you out! This week’s Evention episode revolves around how to train your horse to properly jump skinny jumps, and how to get that feeling when they draw you towards the middle and pop over it like no big deal. With the amount of corners, chevrons and turning questions requiring accuracy these days, you better have your skinny jeans on for cross country! (Terrible puns ftw!)
