Tuesday News and Notes from Legends Horse Feeds

Working in this extraordinary sport, I’m so lucky to meet people every day who inspire me — whether they’re riders who’ve overcome the odds to come out on top, or grooms who’ve poured years of love and long hours into ensuring their horses are thriving, or organisers who desperately want to see the sport succeed, or any of the other myriad cogs in this enormous machine who make little miracles happen every day. But one of the standout people who I think all of us are united in being wholly inspired by is Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto.

Initially a successful showjumper based in Tokyo, he swapped to eventing just a small handful of years ago to help his country towards a successful Olympic campaign. He had to relocate to do so, and moved to England to base himself with William Fox-Pitt, leaving behind his beloved wife and daughter and arriving in a country where even the language was initially almost totally incomprehensible to him. Within a year of swapping disciplines, he very nearly won the prestigious eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S at Blenheim, and throughout his tenure here, he’s been one of the most competitive, competent riders on the British circuit. More notably, though, he’s also the kindest and most humble, always taking the time to share a broad smile and a kind word with anyone who crosses his path and extending the same gentleness to his string of horses, too, all of whom are doted on and sympathetically produced.

The postponement of the Olympics was an inconvenience to many people, but for those riders who had relocated to prepare for it, it was more than that: it was an extra year away from their loved ones, made even tougher by tight travel restrictions and the added difficulty of time zones, which make even a FaceTime session incredibly tricky to organise. But Kazu and his teammates — and the other temporarily European-based riders from further afield — never complained. They all kept on embracing the challenge, rising to it, and reigning supreme over it. Now, finally, Kazu gets to go home — and while we’re all so excited to welcome him back next year as he chases down a spot at the World Equestrian Games, I hope he has a truly excellent break from all his hard work, and I truly hope he realises what a huge contribution he and his teammates have made to our sport over the last few years.

Events Opening Today: Full Gallop Farm Jingle Bells H.T

Events Closing Today: Tryon International 3-Day Event, River Glen Fall H.T., Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks,

Tuesday News:

We’re heading to the final CCI5* of the 2021 season this week — can you believe it? It feels like I only left Pau after the culmination of last year’s edition about two weeks ago. This year’s field is a really exciting one, and we’ll be diving into it over the next couple of days with the release of our bumper form guide, but in the meantime, find out all about British duo Alex Bragg and King of the Mill, who head to France after a tricky season.

Planning to go all in on Halloween with your horse this year? I love you for that and I truly, desperately hope you send photos of the end product to EN, because over-the-top costumes truly are my love language. But while you’re planning your look, you’re likely conscious of not wanting to overstep the line between appreciation and appropriation — so USEF has put together a handy guide to making sure your costume is a thriller, not a vibe killer.

Some people make extraordinary feats a part of their daily life — and Lucy Booker-Wilson is one of them. She’s registered blind due to a genetic disorder called Stargardt’s Disease, which has caused her vision to steadily degenerate over the last few years. But the keen rider didn’t want to let that stop her from getting out and about, and she’s managed to adapt to jumping despite not being able to see the fence. Now the rider, who has qualified for the National Hunter Trial Championships, wants other riders to know that losing their sight doesn’t have to mean losing their dreams.

Like most people, I’ve always thought that horses first made their way to the Americas with the Spanish settlers. That’s the story that I read countless times in those enormous breed encyclopaedias that aunts and uncles always seem to buy horsey kids for Christmas, and as a pre-teen riding at an Appaloosa show barn, it was parroted in all the breed literature that the stock breed societies put out, too. But there’s actually a lot of compelling evidence to suggest that native horse breeds existed in North America before the Spanish arrived, and as a total breed nerd, this might be the most interesting thing I’ve read in weeks.

Tuesday Video Break:

It’s so good to have Ingrid Klimke back in action after her spate of bad luck earlier this year, which saw her sidelined with a serious injury — and several of her top horses temporarily benched, too. Now that she’s back, she’s going full-throttle — and most recently, she heading to Herning, Denmark, for the FEI Dressage World Cup with Franziskus, her Tokyo-longlisted mount. Check out their freestyle and take a minute to light a candle on your shrine; I know I will.