As I looked at my social media feeds yesterday, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for how much growth I’ve seen in our little corner of the world in the past few months. It’s been a pleasure to watch more minorities and people of color featured and amplified in ways I’ve not seen in previous years. When my life isn’t consumed by horses, I’ve also been enjoying stealing pockets of time to consume books authored by Korean writers — books that have only increased in number and notoriety recently. There is always more to do, change to be made, growth to be had — but it’s also key to take a moment to absorb what has grown.
I also have recognized some opportunities for us here at Nation Media to continue to do all we can to help open doors and bridge gaps, contributing to a better, safer, healthier and more welcoming sport. In 2020, we introduced what we intended to be an annual award promoting diversity in equestrian sports, thanks to the generous support of many people. I wanted to take a moment to recognize that we were unable to bring this award back in 2021. When we do something, we want to do it well and with intention. So we’ve worked on improving this offering, and this process takes some time. We’re looking forward to renewing this award with some updates in 2022 and would like to say a special thank you to our Patreon members, who generously have directed their support dues toward its next iteration.
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Rocking Horse December H.T. (Altoona, Fl.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]
Wednesday Reading List:
The USEA Annual Meeting and Convention is happening next week! If you’re planning to attend the Convention, which will be held in Albuquerque, Nm., you can find a schedule and more information on this main information hub. I’ll be attending for a mixed role of reporting and representing Strides for Equality Equestrians, so stay tuned for more here on EN.
The Horse Park of New Jersey board of trustees and organizers behind the long-standing Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event have provided some background on the difficult decision to cancel the 2022 event. US Equestrian did not approve Jersey Fresh’s bid to host a 4*-L, 3*-L, or 4*-S for the 2023-2017 calendaring cycle — a new process of assigning events implemented this year — which eventually prompted the decision makers to pull the plug on the 2022 event. “The sport as a whole relies incredibly on the generosity of others, so when that is no longer a viable option, we had to make a really tough decision,” HPNJ board of trustees president Adam Furlong told The Chronicle of the Horse.
In an effort to curtail rising costs of competition, British Eventing announced a significant change to its event abandonment insurance policies. This change comes as a part of newly appointed chief executive of British Eventing Helen West’s long-range plan to reverse the recent decline in membership numbers. With much at stake both on the front of the organizers as well as the riders themselves, there are varying opinions on the subject of abandonment insurance and whether or not it’s a legitimate benefit to make the change. Read more about this ongoing story here.
Respiratory issues in horses can develop over time and present with little or no symptoms early on. So how can you best advocate for your horse and suss out lurking respiratory trouble before it becomes a big problem? There are some simple warning signs you can look for to help you gauge your horse’s respiratory health — find them in this blog from Haygain.
In case you missed it, equestrian entrepreneurs Brittney Chambers of Brittney Chambers Horsemanship and CBC Therapeutic Horseback Riding Academy as well as Abriana Johnson of Black Unicorn Creative and Young Black Equestrians hosted a seminar on marketing for lesson programs. Branding and marketing are universal languages across all aspects of our sport and beyond, so having an understanding of how to maximize this for your business is valuable. You can find discussion notes and more from the session here.
Watch This:
Another H&C+ Masterclass for your off-season training, this time with Will Faudree:
