Jock Paget and Clifton Promise at Badminton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Today’s headline comes from The Telegraph, which has reported that Jock Paget has been given more time to prepare evidence for his defense over Clifton Promise’s positive drug test. Jock, who will argue his case before an FEI tribunal in March, was supposed to have gathered all evidence by yesterday, but has now been awarded a time extension through mid-January. In order to avoid a minimum two-year ban, Jock must prove he bears “no fault (or no significant fault), no negligence.” According to the Telegraph article, his lawyers are confident they have found answers that will satisfy the FEI. [The Telegraph]
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro are once again undefeated and setting records. The pair scored an amazing 93.975% yesterday evening in the Grand Prix Freestyle class at the London International Horse Show. This shattered the previous Grand Prix Freestyle world record, set by Edward Gal and Totilas at the same show in 2010. Charlotte and Valegro’s record-setting performance followed their win a day before in the Grand Prix class, and you can see a video of that performance below. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a video of the freestyle online yet, but keep your eyes out for it! [Horse & Country]
The USEF has written a year-end round up of the grant money it awarded to eventers in 2013. A whopping $264,500 was awarded by the organization specifically to US eventers, who used most of the money ($208,000) to travel to FEI events at Saumur, Aachen, Blenheim, Boekelo, Fair Hill, Pau, and Galway Downs. The remaining $56,000 of that total was used for training expenses. Eighteen horse and rider combinations benefited from the grants, and their results at the competitions they attended are summarized in the USEF press release. [USEF Press Release]
Still looking for Christmas gift ideas? Check out this handy list of SmartPak staffers’ top picks for the holidays, with a “save” and “splurge” option for every product! The list includes both human and equine apparel with prices ranging from $20 (splint boots) to nearly $600 (the ultra-trendy show jumping helmet of the moment, made by Samshield). Happy shopping! [SmartPak Blog]
Humans aren’t the only ones with a Christmas wishlist. The Chronicle posted this list of gift ideas for your horse written by Liv Gude of Pro Equine Grooms. It includes the usual suspects like peppermints and massages, as well as other more fun ones like monograms and a new cooler. My favorite of her picks is one that is totally free: extra time spent with your favorite four-legged creature. [The Chronicle]
3D printing has hit the horse world. An Australian team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) worked with horse podiatrists to create custom 3D printed shoes in order to help heal a laminitic pony named Holly. The team scanned the pony’s feet in order to take a precise measurement of each of her hoofs, then designed the shoes with a computer program. From there all they had to do was print the custom shoes, which were made out of titanium. Farrier and vet Dr. Luke Wells-Smith told Horsetalk that “the new shoes will work to redistribute weight away from the painful areas of the laminitic foot and give Holly, and horses like her, the chance to recover.” Click to see a video of the process and read more. [Horsetalk]
As mentioned above, here is a video of Charlotte Dujardin and her Olympic mount Valegro winning the Grand Prix class at the London International Horse show at Olympia two days ago. They scored an 84.85%, beating second-placed Edward Gal by a whopping four points.
