First and most importantly, I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the veterans who have served our great country. We will go to the barn today, ride our horses, go home this evening to eat dinner with our familes, and then lay down in a warm safe bed tonight because men and women in the armed services dedicate their lives to protecting us. In particular, I will be thinking of four of my good friends today who are working in some very rough places of the globe–stay safe Matt, Trevor, Clint, and Joseph. Nothing that I will do in my life can earn the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans.
As the US celebrates Veterans Day on Thursday, our friends in Canada celebrate Remembrance Day. Please take a few minutes to call a veteran today and thank them for their service. Here are some eventing notes for Thursday:
–In a shocking development of the La Biosthetique Sam sale situation, Sabine Kreuter apparently took Sam from the Michael Jung’s stable on Monday without Michael’s knowledge or consent. Michael’s family owns 40% of Sam, but Sabine Kreuter owns the other 60% and she has been attempting to sell the horse against Michael’s wishes. On Monday, Sabine reportedly showed up at Michael’s stable in Horb, Germany during a time when only one groom was present and she drove off with Sam. It seems that relations have completely broken down between the Jungs and Sabine, and my hope is that Sam’s best interest will not be lost in the crossfire. Rumors of various potential buyers have swirled since Michael and Sam won gold at the WEGs with rumored prices as high as 2 million Euros. Link courtesy of Lita–[sms-pferdenews.de]
—The first horse inspection at the Adelaide CCI4* is scheduled for today. I guess the higher powers have renamed it the “Australian International 3-Day Event,” but saying “Adelaide” instead saves me 9 syllables. And I hoard my syllables like none other. The event includes 23 entrants from Australia and New Zealand. Because of the time zone difference, most of the Adelaide action will happen during the night in North America. With the help of John from the Eventing Safety Blog on scene, we will bring you Adelaide coverage throughout the weekend.
—Andrew Nicholson has topped the British Eventing points standings for a record 12th year, according to the Horse and Hound. Andrew seemed to have 7 advanced horses at the beginning of the 2010 season and, while Badminton did not go as planned, he revived his season with a bronze at the WEGs after delivering one of the best XC rides I have ever seen. Andrew scored 2233 points and William was second in the standings with 1864. Andrew and William have combined to win the award 10 of the last 11 years.
—Defeated FEI presidential candidate Sven Holmberg gave a bitter interview to Eurodressage in which he alleged broken promises about votes from National Federations, and that “apparently the combination of threats via the IOC to the respective NOC and the promise of more money paid off well.” It sounds like Sven is being a bit of a sore loser, but it’s not like he is the only person in history to talk about funny business in FEI elections. [Eurodressage VIDEO]
–In some sad news, a barn fire in Massachusetts has killed 9 horses and 2 donkeys. Edwin Little, the owner of the farm, is a retired firefighter and he ran into the barn to try to save the horse but was nearly overcome by the smoke. Eventing Nation’s thoughts and prayers are with the animals and their owners. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
—Shares are still available in the Neville Bardos syndicate
–Best of the Blogs: Valerie V from Rubicon
That’s all for now, check back soon for a busy Thursday on Eventing Nation.
