Hugh Thomas is in Horse and Hound defending his Badminton cross-country course. Riders and critics are saying that the course was too soft.
Good morning, EN! All of us are looking forward to Bromont this weekend; many of North America’s top horses and riders will be in attendance, and they’re all gearing up for the first horse inspection later this afternoon. Now that Rolex is over, and there’s a few months before Burghley, the 3* events in North America have their opportunity to really shine.
Weekend Events:
Genesee Valley Riding Club Spring Horse Trials [Website]
Aspen Farms HT [Website] [Entry Status]
Derbyshire Farms HT [Website/Ride Times]
Plantation Field HT [Website] [Entry Status]
Copper Meadows HT [Website] [Ride Times]
Arrowhead HT [Website] [Ride Times]
Queeny Park HT [Website] [Ride Times]
Difficult Run Pony Club Spring HT [Website] [Entry Status]
Texas Rose Horse Park Summer HT [Website] [Entry Status]
Wednesday News:
Like I said, Bromont starts today, with the first horse inspection beginning at 3:00 p.m. Dressage competition starts on Thursday at 8 a.m. and continues in to Friday, with cross-country taking place on Saturday. [Bromont Schedule]
Riders and critics are calling for new designers to be brought in to help re-instate Badminton as the premiere, and scariest, 4* course. With 59 horses finishing clear, 25 within the time, it’s become clear to some that Burghley, not Badminton, is the 4* that riders now aspire to finish. The designer, Hugh Thomas, fired back, saying that no one wants to see horse falls and retirements these days, while Lucinda Green said that it’s still possible to give riders ‘sleepless nights,’ without injuring the horses. [Horse and Hound]
Australia has named the squad for the upcoming Aachen CHIO; Chris Burton, Saumur winner Bill Levett, Andrew Hoy, Paul Tapner, and Murray Lamperd all made the cut. Four riders will be a part of the team that competes at Aachen in late June, while one will be chosen to compete individually. [An Eventful Life]
Another big event that begins with a ‘B’ is slated for the weekend; on Saturday, Kentucky Derby winner Orb, and Preakness winner Oxbow will meet up to see who can win the last jewel of the Triple Crown. Todd Pletcher will be looking to stop both of them; he saddles five, including Revolutionary and Palace Malice. [NY Times Blog]
The Eventing Mum, who I have just stumbled upon, and spent the last two hours reading her blogs, writes about an ‘accidental move up’ to Intermediate. At first, when reading the blog, she says her son didn’t make it in time for ‘novice,’ so had to go Intemediate. I almost started gagging until I realized that Novice in the UK is Preliminary in the US. The whole blog is an absolute riot. [Eventing Worldwide]
Don’t forget to enter the EN Blogger Contest; entries close today at 8 p.m. Write something silly, something poignant (and also silly), and the top contestants will be in the running to write for EN. Hurry up! [Blogger Contest]
Best of the Blogs: Kate Chadderton talks Bromont prep.
Team Wallace’s Episode II of the Road to Bromont:
