How’s this for a bucket-list moment? British-based Italian eventer Giovanni Ugolotti recently got a very cool opportunity to ride racehorses on a beach, and that’s hardly the first time we’ve seen cross-over between the sports — Laura Collett famously makes a big chunk of her living from riding racehorses and training them to jump for National Hunt racing; Jennie Brannigan has been vocal about the positive effect of riding out on her as an eventer, and more and more, I’m seeing friends of mine start to pick up morning shifts out galloping. It’s an incredible way to strengthen your whole body and get comfortable riding — and thinking — at speed, plus, it’s also a handy method of spotting a very good OTTB before they’re actually, you know, OT!
Events Opening Today: YEH West Coast Championships & Last Chance Qualifier, Waredaca Classic Three Day Event & H.T. Chattahoochee Hills H.T.
Events Closing Today: Tomora Horse Trials, Fleur de Leap H.T., Old Tavern Horse Trials, ESDCTA New Jersey H.T., Sundance Farm H.T., Stable View Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and H.T., Spokane Sport Horse 9th Annual Fall H.T., Jump Start H.T., Course Brook Farm Fall H.T.
Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:
Galway Downs has a busy week coming up at the start of November. The California venue isn’t just hosting one championship — it’s hosting a whopping four of them. Get the score on what’s to come here.
The latest instalment in the does-Eric-Lamaze-actually-have-cancer serial mystery is here. The Canadian showjumper spoke to Horse&Hound, saying he’s on the brink of death and had no idea that falsified medical documents had been submitted, though he ‘has his suspicions’. He didn’t happen to bring up any of the many lawsuits currently being pursued against him for selling dodgy horses, mind you. Read it here.
We’ve been huge fans of the Equestrians of Color project since its inception. But if you haven’t yet checked it out, this is a great introduction to the photography blog, which profiles an equestrian each week and gives them a platform to tell their story, with Shelley Paulson and her colleagues’ beautiful portraiture alongside. It’s a wonderful way to ‘meet’ riders with a huge variety of stories to tell. Dive on in.
Hot on Horse Nation: The training scale gets bandied about a lot as we put solid foundations into our horses — but how does it actually translate to the challenges we’re set at different levels of competition? This week, HN dives into First Level dressage to demystify where on the scale you should be at, and how the judges want to see that expressed.
Sponsor Corner: Are you feeling the post-AEC blues? Relive some of the action and discover new stories in this roundup of 4 short stories from the American Eventing Championships. Coverage sponsored by Kentucky Performance Products.
Watch This:
Get a first glimpse of this week’s course at Blenheim!
