This little lady is bang on trend with her Barbie boots and Team GB shirt. Photo by Cheg Darlington.
It’s National Women’s Day today and this little lady (now not so little) is a young woman who inspires me every day.
I was sorting through my s**t show of a spare room when I came across this throwback photo, which dates back twenty years but is totally relevant today – with the European Eventing Championships trotting off this afternoon (I’ll be rooting for all the teams, but especially Team GB), and Barbie taking the world by storm, becoming the only movie solely directed by a woman to hit $1billion in the box office (notice the pink Barbie riding boots – this lil’ lass is clearly a girl ahead of her time).
EN will be bringing you ALL of the Euros action, so stay tuned as we saddle up for a team battle that sure looks set to be AWESOME!
Check out Tilly’s Ultimate Guide for everything you need to know and read up on the form in the Team Guide . Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for our team picks to see what the EN camp makes of the competition – coming soon!
Meanwhile…
The Mongol Derby rages on and I’m loving riding along with this awesome adventure. From the cowboy who keeps losing his horses, the leaderboard climb of ‘Team Pak’, and the tumbles and kicks, to the Mongolian culture and hospitality, it’s well worth a follow. Being partial to a pony (having stayed the size of a teenager), I’m so impressed by the little horses – they’re gutsy and tough and look like SUCH FUN!
Find out how to join the ride and catch up with race updates.
Fun fact of the week… ‘Giddyup’ in Mongolian is ‘choo choo’.
So, choo choo and go eventing!
U.S. Weekend Preview
Fair Hill International Recognized H.T. (Elkton, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Otter Creek Summer H.T. (Wheeler, WI) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
WindRidge Farm Summer H.T. (Mooresboro, NC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Woodside Summer H.T (Woodside, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Major International Events
#Euros2023: Website | Live Stream | Entries | Live Scores | EN’s Ultimate Guide | EN’s Coverage
Wednesday News & Reading
The end of August sees the eventing calendar getting very exciting – and you can be part of the action by volunteering at the American Eventing Championships. As well as getting up close and personal with all of the excitement of the event, you’ll also get a swag bag of goodies (including cookies for your equine friends), the chance to feature on the USEA website and have your hours count towards the Volunteer Incentive Program. [Mini Break in Lexington, Anyone?]
And on the other side of the Pond, Burghley has announced the official charity for this year’s event. Horatio’s Garden works with spinal injury centers to provide accessible gardens for patients and their families, making a huge impact on wellbeing and rehabilitation. Burghley Director, Martyn Johnson, acknowledges the importance of charities such as Horatio’s Garden in the riding community: “Rehabilitation after spinal injury is something all riders support, and Horatio’s Garden provides wonderful sanctuaries for patients to escape from the intensity of hospital life”. Follow @horatiosgarden to find out more about their work. [Supporting Spinal Injury]
Continuing our travels, how about a little je ne sais quoi à Paris? We know all eyes will be on the equestrian splendor on offer if you’re lucky enough to be traveling to France for next year’s Olympics, but when the horses aren’t on show, how about a little sightseeing in the City of Love? From the best places to stay, to the tastiest things to eat, FEI has pulled together the ultimate Paris travel guide especially for equestrians. [A Ride ‘Round Paris]
I’m a big fan of the smile (I once moved house because no one in my street ever smiled) – so I’m delighted to discover that horses appreciate this most friendly of facial expressions too. The bond between horse and rider is all important, we know that – particularly in eventing, it’s something we talk about all the time. But do you know how to reinforce that bond? As well as looking at training methods, this article considers a study which found that horses respond better to humans who smile more than they scowl. Horses were shown photos of humans and, upon meeting said humans a few hours later, clearly remembered which were smiling in the photo and which looked more menacing. So, turn those corners up and keep on smilin’. [Turn That Frown Upside Down]
AI meets equines in this playful and creative collection of colorful images. Photographer Rachel Hulin explains how she uses today’s technology to capture her love for horses in unusual ways – sometimes more unusual than she had in mind: “There are glitches that I edit out; a horse will have five legs, for example!”. A fifth leg would come in handy when you’re squirreling through a cross country combination, so perhaps the tech is onto something with that one. [Thoroughly Modern Horses]
From the ultra-modern to the prehistoric – the iconic Uffington chalk horse is shrinking and needs a little fattening up. The famous white horse has been a feature of the Oxfordshire countryside since at least 1380, but it’s been slowly shrinking since the 1980s. A team of archaeologists will be working on restoring this iconic equine to its former fatness in order to preserve it for many more centuries to come. Find out about all of Britain’s chalk horses in this archive article from Horse and Hound. [All The White Horses]
Sponsor Corner
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Video Break
Talking of inspirational women…
Here’s a throwback to the European Championships in Avenches, 2021, when Great Britain’s women riders took the podium with a 1-2-3 for Nicola Wilson, Piggy March and Sarah Bullimore.
