Wednesday News & Notes

Piggy French and Vanir Kamira, Badminton 2019 winners. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Yesterday, Badminton Horse Trials announced that they intended to run the 2021 event “behind closed doors,” meaning that the event will run with the potential to host a limited number of spectators. Though we’d all love to go enjoy Badders in person, I think we’re all still well-aware of the precarious global health situation and because of that, I find this early announcement of the event’s intention very welcome during this all-around uncertain time. At least now we all know well ahead of time that there is no point in using a week’s worth of vacation days for a trip across the pond next year!

Maybe we all might still want to take those days at the end of the week, however, since the Badminton organizers still intend to give fans every opportunity to enjoy the event via live stream. The organizers are currently hosting a survey regarding TV and livestream coverage. Complete the survey and voice your opinion here! [Badminton Horse Trials Newsletter]

National Holiday: National First Responders Day

U.S. Weekend Preview: 

Galway Downs International Event & H.T.:  [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

The VHT International & H.T.: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Rocking Horse Fall H.T.: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Your Wednesday News & Notes:

The road to becoming a five-star winner is anything but easy, but for Laura Collett it’s been an especially trying one. For one, she’s lucky to be alive after a terrible rotational fall in 2013 that saw her placed under an induced coma for 6 days and also left her with permanent vision impairment in her right eye. [Death threats and near-lethal accidents – Meet Laura Collett, the equestrian rider lucky to be alive]

Want to get to know Laura more? Here ya go. [14 facts you need to know about Pau winner Laura Collett]

Stretching: it’s important! Not just for humans, but for horses too. In fact, relaxation and connection, the elements that make up stretching are part of the foundation of the dressage training pyramid. Here’s an exercise from Practical Horseman designed to help you get your horse stretching their topline. [How Do I Teach My Horse to Stretch and Collect?]

The 2020 USEA Young Event Horse Championships will wrap up this weekend as the competition heads to the Virginia Horse Trials. The East Coast YEH Championship will see a total of 77 entries — one of the largest fields in the YEH history. [Fast Facts: 2020 USEA YEH East Coast Championships]

Speaking of large entry numbers, Galway Downs will host 420 pairs this weekend! Amongst those entries are Liz Halliday-Sharp, Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin, all of whom received USET Foundation grants to assist their travel, are looking to give the reigning queen of the West Coast, Tamie Smith, a run for her money. [Galway Downs International to Welcome 420 Entries]

Wednesday Video: Walk, run, drive, bike, ride … get those ballots in however you can. #RideOutToVote.