Good Morning Eventing Nation! Well, I’m sure you all know just as well as I do what day it is.. It’s the start of the 2012 Rolex Kentucky 3 Day! Well of course being Wednesday, the only Rolex action planned for today is the First Horse Inspection and then the annual cocktail party/gathering where the first Rolex watch of the weekend will be awarded to one lucky competitor tonight. The whole EN crew is coming out for Rolex this weekend, so we should have some really excellent event coverage over these next four days. I can never tell whether John enjoys or despises covering Rolex every year, I mean I guess if you enjoy running on eighteen hour days, very little sleep, and participating in wild goose chases around the Kentucky Horse Park for any number of reasons, than reporting on this event is for you. But I’m sure between the chaos and exhaustion, they will all find some time to enjoy themselves this weekend!
I’m sure this schedule will be posted many more times over the course of this week, but here is the official schedule for all things Rolex. It’s sure to be a great weekend of competition, but it’s not looking like it will be a very sunny one with a chance of rain and thunderstorms every day for the rest of this week. Oh well, we’re die hard eventers after all and a little rain never killed anyone!
Cross-Country Course Open — Wednesday, April 25, 1:00 p.m. (Course open to the public as of this date must stay off track of course)
First Horse Inspection– Wednesday, April 25, 3:00 p.m.
Competitor Familiarization in Main Arena– Wednesday, April 25, 4:30 p.m.
Dressage: Thursday, April 26, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Friday, April 27, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Cross-Country: Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Second Horse Inspection– Sunday, April 29, 8:30 a.m.
Jumping Course Walk: Sunday, April 29, 11:00 a.m.
Show Jumping: Sunday, April 29, 12:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
The First Horse Inspection begins today at 3 pm, Samantha and John will both be there, Samantha I’m sure will be taking many stunning pictures and John will be giving his running commentary of the outfit choices, because if you didn’t already know he has a very developed sense of style between his trademark UVA sweatshirt and jeans.
Now let’s check out some of the other news this morning from the world away from Rolex (mostly):
The first item of new this morning surrounds the popular Zara Phillips. She has been having a great year as far as horses are concerned, but the same can’t be said for her travel agenda away from horses. According to the Daily Mail, she has been in the process of building a villa house in Portugal at a very swank five star resort in Costa de Prata. However, the funds to complete the building of the resort are currently on hold after one investor backed out and the resort is currently in financial crisis. According to the report, ‘Zara was at the stage where she was discussing pressing forward with architectural plans and interior design, but now this has all been set aside.’ I guess that means that instead of spending her weekend getaway at a lovely villa in Portugal, she’ll just have to stay in stuffy old England for the meantime! Oh well, maybe with Badminton approaching and all it won’t be so bad. Joking aside, it’s always a nice change of pace to see riders in the news for something other than their equestrian pursuits! I guess being a Royal is most of the reason for that, but it’s still nice to see every once and awhile. [Daily Mail]
If you are visiting the Kentucky Horse Park for the first time this year, you sure picked a good year to go because according to HorseTalk, entry numbers for this weekend are at an all time high. Competition director Christina Gray said of the event, “The line-up of riders and horses entered in this year’s event is truly amazing. Adding to the record field of US entries, we also have a record number of entries from overseas including some of our sport’s legendary names. Anyone who follows eventing will want to be on hand this year for what promises to be the most exciting Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event ever!” The international heavy hitters include 2010’s winner, William Fox-Pitt, former winners Clayton Fredericks (2007) and Andrew Hoy (2006). Also among the entries for this weekend is Oliver Townend, who I’m sure will be trying to put his hand on the prize after a near miss and bad fall a couple of years ago. It’s sure to be an exciting weekend! [Horsetalk]
NBC wrote an great article about Karen O’Connor and Phillip Dutton, probably the two most experienced competitors in the field for this weekend, about their Olympic dream that is still thriving after all these years. [NBC]
Rosie Thomas and Barry’s Best, the seasoned British duo, have just been accepted into Badminton after the French rider Jean Teulere sadly had to withdraw his horse Matelot Du Grand Val. Rosie and Barry’s Best are popular competitors among the fans, and will be tackling arguably the world’s toughest event for a fifth consecutive time this year. Talk about durability and dedication! According to the report from Horse and Hound, horses will continue to be taken from the waiting list to replace those who are withdrawn until 2pm on Monday, 30 April. So far, horses down to 20th have been offered the opportunity to compete. [Horse and Hound]
Equine enthusiasts and those connected with the University of New Hampshire have been facing off over the past couple of weeks in regards to land use at the University, in light of a 48% cut in Government funding to the University. The board at UNH recently announced that they were considering selling part of the campus land to retail developers, which sparked an outcry among students, faculty, and horseman alike. The problem is that the land they were considering selling is where the equine and agricultural programs are located, and also where the only recognized horse trials currently in New Hampshire are held each year. Thankfully, over 600 people attended a public hearing and opposed the plan, forcing the board to revise their plan for development. Thank goodness for all those people who stood up and resisted what has turned into a huge issue for the New Hampshire horse community, however we’re still not totally in the clear yet. Developers revised their plan to include building student housing on one of the areas of land used to host the events, which would mean cutting out a big loop of the UNH cross country course. Chris Keim, equine program faculty member who is strongly opposing development, said they are sources of income for the program and educational opportunities for students to run a competition. She also said that if this plan for develop were to go through, the University would be unlikely to continue to host events. [COTH]
Kristin Schmolze unfortunately had to withdraw her longtime partner Cavaldi from Badminton. She wrote a blog entry explaining what happened and why she was forced to withdraw:
“We had done our last gallop the day before [we were supposed to fly to England] and he was iced and wrapped in our usual manner, but Sunday morning there was swelling in a front leg. We already had an appointment with Dr. Staller bright and early to do our final check before leaving and to run IV fluids to keep Joey hydrated for his trip. Unfortunately, the swelling is a strain to his suspensory ligament that became painful overnight. In the long run, Joey should recover just fine, but right now, there is nothing anyone could do to quickly turn this around and make him better in such a short time. It is in Joey’s best interest to rest his leg right now and reroute to a different event later this year.” The full blog can be viewed here.
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA) have partnered to sponsor a program that will reward participants competing Off the track Thoroughbreds on the Eventing circuit in New York in 2012. The two associations have together pooled over $30,000 to be distributed to at events this season. At each of the ten events held in New York, the highest placed Thoroughbred competitor in each division will receive 300 dollars for their efforts. At the New York Circuit Thoroughbred Championships at Millbrook in August, prize money will be raised to $700 dollars in each division, which could well pay for your entry fee, gas, and hotel for the weekend! I think it’s a really nice effort put on by these racing associations to highlight the thoroughbred breed, and may even draw some new competitors up to New York to compete this year! [COTH]
We received a letter from the Area I Eventing Director informing us that the Area I scholarships have been decided for the 2012 season, she wrote of the finalists:
“The Area 1 Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the first $250 educational scholarships of 2012. One scholarship has been awarded to Vermont-based professional Andrea Waldo, and another has been designated for Megan Tardiff of Maine, who hopes to attend the Lucinda Green clinic at Ledyard. The committee received almost thirty applications expressing a wide range of hopes and goals and was hard-pressed to choose just two recipients for this round.”
By now, I’m sure we are all well aware of the tragic loss earlier this week when Martha McDowell’s barn burned to the ground and 21 horses perished. Sarah Kelly of Rebecca Farms has kindly set up a fund to receive donations to held Martha recover financially from this loss. We have posted these donation directions before, but they are worth another mention and they have been update since their original posting on the USEA and EN. Sarah writes:
‘We have set up a fund for Martha and those involved to help cover the expenses they will incur rebuilding after the fire. Although this can never replace the beloved horses that were lost, we feel that this may help start the rebuilding process. We know that Martha and the boarders at High Plains Stables have support from the horse and local communities and are honored to provide a way for those to show their support.’ If you are interested in donating to help Martha and those affected, please send checks to the following address:
Sarah Kelly
PO Box 8385
Kalispell, MT 59904′
Karen O’Connor has written another installment of her ‘Road to the Olympics’ blog for the COTH. She recaps her performances with Mr. Medicott and Veronica at Red Hills and the Fork, explaining both the successes and difficulties she has been having with both of her horses, and her excitement to test it all out at Rolex this weekend. [COTH]
This is a little weird, sent in from Meg Kep (who else would it be?)
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! Have a great day wherever you may be! If you are at Rolex, enjoy yourself and try to stay dry!
From Horse Quencher: Anytime a horse moves to a new barn – whether to live there or just stay a few days to compete – the natural order of things is upset. And that’s enough to slow or stop water intake, especially for the new kid on the block. So get him a welcoming drink, with Horse Quencher.
As Denis O’Brien, Assistant Manager Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stud, Norfolk, says, “We use Horse Quencher when new horses arrive at the farm, or when horses have undergone surgery and return to us from hospital. At these times the horses can be unsettled for a few days, often going off their food and water. Horse Quencher has been excellent in helping to reduce the risk of impaction colic, a very costly and distressing condition. The hydration of horses when traveling can be overlooked and Horse Quencher will assist those who reduce their fluid intake while being transported nationally and internationally. In a nutshell Horse Quencher has helped whenever the horses have a change of routine, or environment, when moving from trainers to the farm, for pre-and-post sales, for traveling and while recovering from injury and confined to the box.”
