David teaching Ellen Doughty and Sir Oberon on Monday at the Ocala Training Sessions. Photo from the USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook page.
Good morning EN! The Ocala High Performance Training Sessions are underway this week down in Florida, where the weather can’t make up its mind on what season it is. As you can see from the photo above, Monday was sunny and beautiful, while photos from yesterday’s jumping session show a background consisting of rainy fog. Today is the third and final day of training, consisting of private dressage lessons again. Check out the links below for more coverage of the training sessions and takeaways from David’s lessons.
[COTH Coverage: Dressage Day 1] [COTH Coverage: Jumping Day] [Visionaire’s Jumping Day Write up] [Videos]
Weekend Preview:
Full Gallop Farm Feb. HT (runs today, Feb. 5) [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Pine Top [Website] [Entry Status/Times]
Ocala Horse Properties Winter II HT [Website] [Ride Times]
We reported yesterday on the announcement of Miners Frolic’s retirement due to a heart problem, and his fans across the pond are speaking out. “Henry” is the only British horse to have ever won three Olympic medals and he has many ardent supporters who are wishing him all the best. Horse & Hound has a nice round up of tweets that were sent out about the subject yesterday. [Horse & Hound]
Kitty King is one of 18 riders selected for Great Britain’s Nations Cup Squad. The squad is a list of riders capable of representing Great Britain at the six FEI Nations Cup competitions, though who lack the experience to make the Senior Squad. A team of four and an alternate will be chosen for each Nations Cup competition, a strategy that worked well for Britain last year as they won the series. Click to see the entire list, and to be amazed by how many young British three star riders exist. [Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard]
The International Eventing Officials Club has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the FEI. The FEI removed the designation of Associate Member status in 2012, and the IEOC is one of several former Associate Member bodies to sign a memorandum in order to cover “universal issues” like FEI rules, recognition, and welfare status. The IEOC consists of more than 1,000 members and is an important link between the FEI and the sport of eventing, which continues to grow. Did you know that the number of events worldwide has increased by 77% since 2004? [Horsetalk]
This week on SmartPak’s horse health challenge: put your best foot forward. The experts over on the SmartPak blog explain the three steps to healthy hooves: expert care, management, and proper nutrition. Also, remember to be patient: healthy hooves grow one day at a time. [SmartPak Blog]
The USEA has posted the 2014 Young and Future Event Horse competition schedule. Future Event Horses are yearlings, two-year-olds, and three-year-olds, while Young Event Horses classes are open to four- and five-year-olds that are under saddle. Click for a full list of this year’s classes, the first of which takes place at MeadowCreek Park HT, Feb. 28-Mar 2. [US Eventing]
