Good Morning Eventing Nation! How are you feeling this morning? If your feeling is anything like mine, then its a pretty darn good one. Spring is here, summer is on the horizon, and the weather is pristine, what could there possibly be out there to be unhappy about? Even the news seems to be above averagely pleasant this morning. In case you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, spilled your coffee on the way to work, and my cheeriness is having a nauseating effect on you; I’ll be kind and start with the negative news. After that, beware, as its all rainbows and butterflies.
As it applies to the staff at the Washington State University Veterinary Hospital, I take back what I said in the paragraph above about the roses and butterflies as this past week for them has been anything but. A third case of EHV-1 was confirmed yesterday by the hospital after two diagnosis’ in Colorado last week. Because of the severity of the virus, the University Hospital has been put under quarantine. Part of the serious of the situation is that the first horses diagnosed had recently taken part in a Utah reining competition, so the potentially for mass exposure has been greatly raised. This situation has already made waves in the western world and a major cutting competition in Oklahoma was canceled due to the outbreak. [Horsetalk] [Equine Chronicle]
Rebecca Howard wrote a quick blog update after her successful weekend at Jersey with Roquefort. As we remember all too vividly, Rebecca and ‘Rocky’ had a terrible fall at Pine Top last year that sidelined both Rebecca’s health and her partnership with that horse. Rebecca is one of the toughest and most persistent people in our sport, and her winning performance last weekend is certainly evidence of that.
Across the pond, Emily Baldwin emerged victorious in the World Cup class at the Chatsworth Horse Trials aboard her longtime partner, Drivetime. The CIC*** cross country track designed by Ian Stark was tough, tough enough to catch out even Andrew Nicholson, often dubbed ‘Mr. Stickability’ with his veteran Armada. Emily said of the weekend: “When he [Drivetime] is on-form he’s fantastic — his dressage test on Friday was really impressive, plus he was keen through the water across country which was great as I felt we had a point to prove!” [Horse and Hound]
The new Broadway play ‘War Horse’ has been receiving rave reviews and a multitude of awards. Yesterday, “War Horse” was named as the winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding new Broadway play. In addition, the play performed out of the Lincoln Center Theatre, has been nominated for five Tony awards, including best play. [Horsetalk]
If I asked you to answer these two questions: 1. “Have you ever wanted go on a Safari ride across Botswana?” and 2. “Have you ever wanted to go for a ride with Mark Todd?” I’m guessing most would answer “Hmmm probably not” to the first question and “Yes! Definitely! Sign me up!” to the second one. Well, prepare yourselves because now you have the chance to spend some quality time with the Legend in an African jungle next winter for only a small price to pay of £3,000. Personally, if it wasn’t for the Botswana part, I’d be putting down the credit card number right now, but it definitely sounds like a cool trip for those who are wilderness inclined. [Horse and Hound]
Why all horses are created equal [via ESJ]
An event rider in England’s prognosis is unclear after a severe fall in April [Horse and Hound]
They say experience pays, in Susie Hutchinson’s case, it just paid $50,000. The 58 year-old show jumping legend won the California Grand Prix over the weekend, jumping a clear and fast round to top a stacked division. [COTH]
Best of the Blogs: Schooling at the Horse Park
Our friends at Pennfield have added two new dealers: Tapps Feed in Louisville, KY, 502-633-1060, and Clifton Saddlery in Clifton, VA, 703-830-7200 [Dealer Directory]
That’s all I have for now. Stay tuned for a full day of fun on Eventing Nation.
