Darren and Amendment 15 at Richland Park earlier this year.
Good morning EN! Hopefully this post will give you a nice break from thinking about politics for about 1 minute, because I’m sure we all need that right about now. We have a piece of very good news coming from Team Chiacchia: Darren is comfortably recovering from his bout of meningitis at home. Released from the hospital on October 28, Darren has been posting updates on his Facebook page and from the looks of things is getting better everyday. Everyone at EN is wishing him a smooth continued recovery! [COTH] [Darren’s Facebook]
Weekend event preview:
Poplar Place November HT [Website/Times]
CDCTA HT [Website/Entry Status]
Texas Rose HT [Website] [Entry Status] [Times]
British eventers have jumped on the Gangnam Style train: Zara Phillips, Tina Cook, and Nicola Wilson performed the dance for Children In Need, a British charity. In a video that will be released on Monday, the trio performs the dance in full equestrian attire- click the link for a photo. Also if you still haven’t had enough of PSY and Gangnam Style, make sure to check out the video made by jockeys that we posted yesterday. [The Telegraph]
The FEI General Assembly is meeting this week in Istanbul, and they have announced that they will be suspending the Eventing World Cup series until a better system can be worked out. Apparently the series will run on a trial basis next year, and the FEI will work with national federations to improve the program. The FEI also announced the shortlist for the 2016 Olympic cross country course designer. Those selected for final consideration are: Derek Di Grazia (USA), Mark Phillips (GBR), Pierre Michelet (FRA), and Rűdiger Schwartz (GER). [Horsetalk]
On the heels of that news, the FEI hasannounced new rules to determine how countries will qualify for the Jumping Nations Cup. If you remember, there has been a bit of a drama in order to ensure countries outside the usual European powerhouses have a fair chance to qualify for a slot at the finals ever since the Saudi Equestrian Federation stepped up as the new title sponsor of the event. Under the new rules, the world has been divided into six regions in which countries will compete to qualify a team for a final. Read more on the rule change by clicking the link. [Horsetalk]
Julie Wolfert had a great weekend at the Area IV Championships, winning both the Preliminary Championship and the Open Preliminary on her dressage scores, as well as the Adult Rider Low Score Award for her Championship score, which was an impressive 26.1. [USEA]
Marilyn Little went back to her show jumping roots last weekend, winning the $50,000 Los Angeles Anniversary Grand Prix aboard Zilox T. Marilyn rode nine horses over the weekend, debuting her master plan of launching a “simultaneous International campaign in both the eventing and show jumping sports.” Marilyn told The Chronicle that this move has been planned for sometime now, and that by focusing so intensely on eventing for much of the past year and a half, she feels that she now has the foundation in place to begin pursuing both sports simultaneously. [COTH]
Havre de Grace, an American thoroughbred mare, sold for $10 million at auction on Monday at the Fasig-Tipton November sale. She was bought by Mandy Pope of Florida, who will use her for breeding. Havre de Grace was last year’s Horse of the Year in the Eclipse Awards, retired this year due to an ankle injury. She won 9 out of 16 career starts, and is now one of the most expensive thoroughbreds ever sold in the US. [Horsetalk]
The USEA posted a wrap-up from the SmartPak Equine USEA Classic Series which took place at the Haygard Midsouth Three Day Event. [USEA]
California-based Amy McCool of McCool Photography has put together a calendar featuring photos of the West Coast’s best and brightest faces of eventing. The 2013 calendar will have the opening and closing dates of events in areas VI, VII, IX, and X, and 15% of proceeds from sales will go towards the USEA’s Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research Study. Click the link for more information and purchasing information. [McCool Photography]
That’s all for today, EN! Thanks for reading, now back to the politics.
