Fox and hound jumps that were used in the water complex last year. Photo via the Millbrook Facebook page.
Tomorrow the festivities begin at Millbrook Horse Trials in Millbrook, NY, where WEG hopefuls will be competing along with over 500 other horses in every level recognized by the USEA. It is also one of the special FEI Targeted CN events, which means that completing the Advanced, Intermediate or Prelim with qualifying results will be the equivalent of completing a CIC. AND the event is part of the NY Second Career Circuit, so if you are competing make sure your register your TB for a chance to win prizes! There are a lot of big names competing this weekend in both the Intermediate and Advanced- several Rolex horses are making their competition debut after a long vacation in preparation for the fall season. Dressage begins tomorrow. Keep checking back for more updates and coverage! [Millbrook Website] [Ride Times] [Millbrook Facebook]
Weekend Preview:
Silverwood Farm Summer H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]
Snowfields H.T [Website]
River Glen Summer H.T. [Website] [Times]
Catalpa Corner Charity HT [Website] [Entry Status/Times]
Rocky Mountain HT [Website]
Kristi Nunnink had a fabulous weekend on her mare R-Star at Rebecca Farm. The pair jumped double clear in the CIC3* show jumping to move up from fifth to first and take home top honors. Second-placed Katie Ruppel and Houdini took down only one rail to move from fourth to second. [COTH]
Zara Phillips is making sure the world knows she is not retiring from upper level competition. While she is taking a break during pregnancy, she told BBC that she is aiming for the 2016 Olympics and hopes to have a few more good years left as a top event rider. Though she is not currently competing, she is still riding and will take part in a dressage exhibition this weekend at the Festival of British Eventing. [BBC Sport]
British equestrians have continued to build on the momentum they gained from last year’s Olympics. British riders are making their presence known at competitions all across Europe and there have been record entry numbers at shows in country. And it looks like success is here to stay: Britain’s next generation of top eventers just won double gold at the 2013 FEI Pony European Championships last week. [British Eventing]
This week on the Eventing Radio Show: the Rebecca wrap-up and an interview with Dan Jocelyn about fitness in lower level horses. Hosted by PRO riders Joe Meyer and Nate Chambers this week, guests include Sarah Broussard and Katie Ruppel. Katie finished second in the CIC3* at Rebecca with Houdini. [Eventing Radio Show]
Need help shortening your horse’s thin mane? Emma Ford can help you out. Emma, who was previously the head Phillip Dutton’s barn operation, wrote a blog for SmartPak about how to shorten a mane that is already very thin without taking out too many precious hairs. Click to check it out. [SmartPak Blog]
A blogger for The Horse breaks down the interesting results of a study that evaluated the psychology of riders in competition. Notable conclusions were that female riders were typically more negative in their thinking than male riders, and there was a marked difference between amateurs and pros when it came to the concept of automaticity. The study was undertaken by Dutch researcher Inga Wolframm, PhD, MSc, of Wageningen University and Research Centre, who became interested in the subject after watching Michael Jung keep his cool during the Olympics. [The Horse]
Best of Blogs:
Team FLAIR rider Alexa Ehlers wrote a post about her experience competing at Young Riders and her preparations to take part in the USPC Inter-Pacific Exchange. [Alexa Ehlers for FLAIR]
