(from Dana's Doodles)
A third of the population today will be gorging themselves on chocolates, celebrating flower deliveries and getting snazzy for a special dinner out. Another third of the population will spend their day actively disliking Valentines Day, and all the ooey-gooey lovey-dovey activities that go along with it. The final segment of people will be doing what I am today, exactly what we did yesterday. I get to wake up, muck stalls, ride my horses, run down the road and stalk watch the riders in the Training Sessions, run home, ride some more horses, clean some stalls, and possibly go to Waffle House with my girls. So romantic, right?
However, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention that today has a shadow cast across it due to the loss of one of Eventing’s brightest superstars yesterday. Lainey Ashker’s lovely big OTTB gelding The Big Island, or Lyle, passed away from complications from a colic surgery this past weekend. Please join me in sending condolences and healing thoughts her way.
Events this Weekend:
Fresno Country Horse Park: [Website] [Entry Status/Times]
Paradise Farm: [Website] [Times]
Rocking Horse II: [Website] [Times]
Training Sessions Schedule:
Thursday – Jumping at Stable View
9am: Master Frisky/Crown Talisman
10am: Andromaque/Trading Aces
11am: Santino/Wolf
12pm: Lunch
1pm: Mighty Nice/Cambalda
2pm: Fernhill Eagle/Copycat Chloe
3pm: No Boundaries/Here’s to You
News From Around the Globe:
A groundbreaking survey in Britain has found that most women would prefer to spend Valentines day riding their horse, rather than spending it with their significant other. Most of the women also mentioned that they were liable to give their horse more attention than their partner. Many of them asked for a comfy pair of riding pants, rather than some Victoria’s Secret lingerie and some chocolates. [Shocking, I Know]
I hope you didn’t think Karen O’Connor was out of the picture yet, because she’s already planning her comeback. She has Marilyn Meredith, Kaitlyn McMorris, Lauren Kieffer and David keeping her horses legged up, competing and ready for her return to the saddle. Karen has been getting stronger and more comfortable through Pilates, and looks forward to getting back to her passion. [Karen’s Update]
Are you having trouble figuring out how to keep your horse’s diet consistent through changes of location throughout the year? I know that one of the biggest struggles when going south for the winter/spring season is finding hay that is good quality and reasonable prices. So how do you deal with this without going broke? And what is the best way to make sure that your performance horse has slow-release energy for those hard long workouts? Dressage rider Catherine Haddad Staller weighs in on how she solves these problems with her upper level horses. [Feeding the Top Athlete]
The FEI would like to remind you that if you are planning on competing in an FEI event this year, you could be subject to human drug testing. Not sure if you’re in compliance with all the ridiculously complicated medication restrictions? Yeah, well this isn’t something where you want to get caught unaware. You can apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) through the USEF, if you find that you need one! Have a look. [2013 Medication Prohibitions]
Good news for all the Pentathaletes out there, the Pentathalon has been approved for Olympic competition for 2020. The sport, along with badminton, taekwondo and table tennis, was slated to be axed from the 2020 Games in a review by the International Olympic Committee, however they decided to drop Wrestling instead. As a further boost all five elements of the sport — fencing, showjumping, swimming, running and shooting — are planned to take place in same stadium at Rio in 2016. [Pentathalon Aprroved for 2020]
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In memorial of The Big Island
