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I love it when people who knew a horse as a foal – or heck, bred it! – get the chance of a reunion once that horse is a global mega-star. We saw it happen at Luhmühlen earlier this month, where London 52’s breeder made a surprise appearance, and now we’re seeing it in action again, as Phillip Dutton’s Z got the chance to have a good snuggle with his breeder’s sister, who was present and helping at his birth, while en route to Aachen. How surreal it must be to see what a cool horse he’s become!
Speaking of Aachen, I’m so excited to once again be lead reporter and photographer for EN for all the festivities this week at, arguably, the world’s greatest horse show. We’ll have some great preview content coming your way over the next couple of days, plus jam-packed reports and galleries, and even some peaks at what else is going on at this celebration of top-end horse sport, so keep it locked on EN this week and let’s keep this big German June rolling!
Events Opening Today: Woodside Summer H.T, Fair Hill International Recognized H.T., Full Gallop Farm August HT-Pending USEF Approval, WindRidge Farm Summer H.T., Otter Creek Summer H.T., GMHA Festival of Eventing August H.T.
Events Closing Today: The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm, Champagne Run at the Park H.T., Larkin Hill H.T.
News & Notes from Around the World:
The British Equestrian Federation and the FEI are working to improve concussion guidelines. This comes off the back of new research on the effect of a knock to the head, and is promising news for riders who may have otherwise continued on as normal after a fall, leaving themselves with nasty after effects down the line. Read more here.
Miks Master C heads to Aachen this week, after a super spring season that saw him finish third in his five-star debut at Kentucky. He’s arguably one of the most exciting horses in the US at the moment — but how much do you know about this cool character? Go behind the stall door and find out more.
Are you about to make your eventing debut, or returning to the sport after a break? You might benefit from a refresher on the rules of cross-country — and heck, even if you’re out competing most weekends, it never hurts to remind yourself of the nuances of our sport! USEA gives you the cliff notes here.
Sponsor Corner: Summer is in full swing! That leaves us with the question that comes around every summer: how hot is too hot to ride? This handy graphic from Kentucky Performance Products has a simple formula.
Watch This:
Get in the mood for Aachen with this hat cam video from last year’s cross country, courtesy of Andrew Hoy and Vassily de Lassos.
