June 1 marks the beginning of LGBTQ Pride Month, designated as such to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. I joined a book club a few years ago and one book that came up in our discussion was The Stonewall Reader, which takes readers through the fight for LGBTQ rights and the events that led to the uprising. It was really educational and a useful tool for learning more about the LGBTQ community and its history — if you’re up for a good nonfiction read, you can pick up a copy here.
To honor our LGBTQ friends and fellow equestrians, we’ll be sharing bits of cultural history and significance, stories on and by LGBTQ riders, and more all month long. Have something you want to share? Email us at [email protected] (and yes, our allyship extends well beyond the confines of a single month!) to let us know. In order to gain greater understanding of the world around us, including our sport, it’s important to understand those who make it up — their history, their personal stories, their voices. We look forward to learning more this and every month!
U.S. Weekend Preview
Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club Spring H.T. (Geneseo, Ny.): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]
GMHA June H.T. (South Woodstock, Vt.): [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
IEA H.T. (Edinburgh, Ind.): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
The Spring Event at Archer (Cheyenne, Wy.): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
MCTA H.T. at Shawan Downs (Cockeysville, Md.): [Website] [Entries] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Ocala Summer I H.T. (Ocala, Fl.): [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Major International Events
Millstreet International H.T. (Millstreet, Ireland): [Website] [Scoring]
Wednesday News & Reading
The role of the cross country course decorator is one that’s often unsung. Yet decorations and the skill with which they are applied can have a massive effect on how a question is presented and subsequently rides. There’s an awesome book on this exact subject: Cross Country Completion: Considerations About Jump Decorating and you can read a really informative excerpt from it here.
US Equestrian will consider proposed amendments to bylaws at its 2022 Mid-Year Meeting, including one proposal to designate Modified instead of Preliminary as the lowest USEF-recognized eventing level. You can read more about the proposed amendments here. All Senior Active members are invited to comment on the proposed amendments by submitting comments through the proposed amendments form, email, or mail. All comments must be received by USEF on or before June 14. Your membership number must be included along with your comments.
Does your horse suffer from, er, low energy? I’ve had a few of those myself. Practical Horseman is here to help you motivate your energy-saver in this article.
Listen, it’s a real issue that helmets (in horse sports and beyond) simply are not inclusive. This isn’t a fashion issue — it’s a safety issue. A new advocacy group led by Caitlin Gooch is drumming up awareness about this very real issue and how it can be fixed. Follow Saddle Up, Helmet On here and read more about helmet inclusivity here.
Watch This on H&C+
Lots of live streams in your future!
Wednesday Video Break
How Ingrid Klimke uses Haygain for her horses:
