I truly, truly believe that watching a key round is often more nerve-wracking than being the person in the saddle — particularly if you’re watching as a teammate and you know the round that’s underway will decide whether or not your nation scoops the win. This video of the Swiss eventing team, who were victorious in Avenches’ Nations Cup leg last week, watching leading rider Robin Godel deliver his winning round absolutely nails the tension of those final moments. It does also sort of look like an ’80s aerobics video.
Events Opening Today: Town Hill Farm H.T., Shepherd Ranch Pony Club H.T. II, Great Meadow International, Full Gallop Farm August HT
Events Closing Today: Hunt Club Farms H.T., Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials II
Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:
Take a closer look at Mollie Summerland’s weekend four-star win at Barbury, courtesy of H&H. The 2021 Luhmühlen winner regrouped after a tricky Badminton by revisiting the basics — and deleting social media from her phone, which has proved an enormous help in the face of external pressure. [Don’t let the social media haters get you down]
Anyone who’s ever ridden a game little chestnut mare knows one thing for certain: they’re the horses that make you. One sterling example of the genre is Sydney Shinn’s Paprika, whose resumé reads like a who’s-who of riders and who, at seventeen, has competed at over 100 horse trials. [The mare that’s touched countless lives]
One place that’s been firmly on my travel bucket list for years is Maryland’s Assateague Island. That, and Chincoteague in southern Virginia, are so indelibly burned into my mind as pony heaven, thanks to well-thumbed copies of Marguerite Henry’s much-loved books, and I’m quietly hoping that I might get a chance to visit when I’m over for the Maryland Five-Star this October. Until then, I’m living vicariously through this fascinating account of life as a ranger on the island. [The tourists take more wrangling than the ponies]
Seventeen-year-old Katherine Maroko might be a new face on the five-star circuit, but she’s making a big impression. As one of two grooms for Hannah Sue Burnett at Kentucky this year, she won the Buckeye Horse Feeds Best Turned Out Horse Award – and that’s the just the tip of the iceberg where her equine education is concerned. [Meet her here]
Sponsor Corner:
This new listing from Ocala Horse Properties is located a mere 15 minutes from the World Equestrian Center and has a lot of existing infrastructure in place to hit the ground running. Ocala is THE place to be these days, especially for eventers, and you can consider this your sign to go ahead and make that move:
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Watch This:
Pick up a few new tips for your next jump school from Ocala Horse Properties-supported rider Liz Halliday-Sharp:
