Photo via the lovely Samantha Clark
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Good morning Eventing Nation!
The better looking half of the Will Coleman/Twizzel partnership strutted his stuff yesterday leading the American contingency at Barbury in 7th place overall on a 47.4. Samantha Clark is bringing us amazing coverage right here on Eventing Nation. Follow her Twitter updates @samanthalclark for real time action! [Barbury CIC*** Live Scores]
Rounding out the US after Day 1 of Dressage
7. Will Coleman and Twizzel 47.4
8. Allison Springer and Arthur 48.2
11. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere 48.8
12T. Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos 49.0
19. Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott 52.4
22T. Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice 53.2
24. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen 53.4
25. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville 54.0
Phillip Dutton and Mystery Whisper, Boyd Martin and Remington, Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister, and Will Faudree with Andromaque have their dressage performances today. Best of luck!
Great news for event riders competing at the FEI levels. Riders will no longer be assessed penalties for breaking a frangible pin. Penalties will only be assessed at the discretion of the ground jury. The Event Riders Association had a petition with over 300 signatures that was subsequently backed by British Eventing. [Go ERA and BE]
Sam Griffiths has blogged about his June. He did mention he was “totally gutted” about not making the London squad. However, he’s got his sights set on winning Burghley. This way, he can keep his horses going in the program that’s meant for them instead of hitting up events he wouldn’t normally run. He had a wonderful 40th birthday celebration snagging the win in the CIC3* at Houghton. Unfortunately, his birthday present he received from Lucy was short lived… [Sam’s blog]
As eventers, we don’t really give a hoot about dressage, but in case you wanted to know what you are looking at while horses prance around doing ballet, check out this great article on what to look for in an Olympic dressage test. They break it down from movements to showing the pyramid to the Olympic format. At the end there’s a flashback to 2008’s Games. [Regarding Horses]
Reed Kessler has blogged about her road to the Olympics. In the latest installment, she writes about changing her mindset from a happy girl to be riding in such big classes to a professional analyzing every step. She’s clearly working hard by jumping multiple horses daily without stirrups, hitting the gym, and making the best plans for her horses and her chances. [Her 18th birthday is July 9]
Equine Canada is offering a new certification program for coaches, dubbed “Competition Coach Specialist”. The goal is to bridge the gap between the Competition Coach and the High Performance Coach. To be eligible you must be 20 years of age, have competition experience, be a member in good standing and be evaluated. They realize that quality coaching is vital to a successful competition. [Horsetalk]
The massive fires in Colorado are not near the Colorado Horse Park and haven’t affected the show schedule there. EN sends it thoughts and prayers out to all those affected. [COTH]
Plantation Field is hosting a Jumping Derby on July 27th. More details to follow. Check their FB page for updates. [Plantation Field website]
A gentle reminder in case you’re in an ice box somewhere: it’s hot out there. Take care of your ponies and yourself. (And dogs too!) The Horse has reported that the Livestock Heat-Stress Index will reach the emergency level this week in Kentucky. Other parts of the country are heating up as well. Dr. Jen from Horse Nation has a great article on keeping cool. The Horse also has a guide to cooling out.
Hot on HN: Top Ten Reasons to Date/Marry a Horse Girl. [You know it’s true]
Top of the Tweets: Nina Ligon posted a photo of Karen O’Connor and herself familiarizing their horses to the dressage area. [@Nina Ligon]
Found on Facebook: Sinead Halpin and Allison Springer reflect on their dressage riders at Barbury. Uptown Eventing also has a CIC3* coursewalk.
Best of the Blogs: Boyd recaps day 1 of his dressage rides at Barbury. He is proud of Nev for having a similar test that he did at Bromont, but was very pleased with his rideability. Otis had terrific trot work, but greener canter work. He’s getting ready to light up Remi for this afternoon’s ride. [Boyd’s blog]
Honorable Mentions:
Team Express Eventing has a new website and blog! Heather Morris has recapped 2012 so far. [Go Team Express]
Sophia Zeier is working with Laney Ashker this summer making the move from California to Virginia. She’s learning about studs, getting up at 2 am and moving up to training level. [Go girl]
That’s all for now EN. Stay tuned for more from Barbury and Samantha!
