Wednesday News & Notes from SmartPak

There are more things to do at Rebecca Farm than just ride. Photo via Madeline Backus’ FB page.

The masses have converged on the beautiful Rebecca Farm, and the social media feeds are filling up with photo after photo of gorgeous mountains, serene lake vistas, and blue skies as far as the eye can see. Four-star rider Madeline Backus has found plenty to keep her busy, with a yoga session on a surf board in the middle of the lake. Talk about Instagram worthy!

National Holiday: National Daiquiri and Raspberry Cake Day

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Fitch’s Corner H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]

Full Moon Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]

Silverwood Farm Summer H.T. [Website]

The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI, CIC, & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

[CHIO Aachen Entry List]

Your Wednesday News & Notes:

If Rebecca isn’t enough for you, there’s this little show called Aachen happening across the pond. Let’s not forget that Aachen hosts all three Olympic disciplines as well as driving and vaulting. Oh, and a couple of really prominent American ladies happen to be competing as individuals in the eventing competition. Good luck, Lauren and Hannah Sue! [What You Need to Know About the 2017 Aachen]

The beginning of the fall season is upon us: the AECs are open! Held for the second year at Tryon Equestrian Center, the AECs will be another chance for American competitors to scope out the 2018 WEG venue. Don’t miss your chance to compete at the AECs here before it rotates out to the Colorado Horse Park for 2018. [The AECs Are Open]

The Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials and Market Weekend is this weekend, July 22 & 23 and there is much excitement around the new Saturday Nite Social. Competitors and Millbrook fans will enjoy cocktails, gourmet food stations, strolling musicians, shopping in Fitch’s Market and the Horse & Hound Court while the stadium phase of the Stubben Novice Master’s Challenge will Stadium jump in front of the crowd.  For tickets go to www.fitchscorner.com/buytickets for $35.00 on line or $45.00 at the door if available. [Saturday Nite Social]

Have you ever wished you could give your younger self some sage advice? Eighteen top riders do just that in the latest Horse & Hound column. From learning another language to not taking mistakes so hard, top eventers, show jumpers, jockeys, and dressage riders chime in on some of their sage-est thoughts. [Make Your Equestrian Dreams Come True]

SmartPak Product of the Day: I’ll fully admit that I am a true believe in riding in my tall boots every ride. I’ll toss on my paddock boots and half chaps if the weather looks poor, or if I’m just doing fitness sets. For jumping and dressage though, I toss on my tall boots to maintain the same feel from home to show. This means I go through tall boots maybe a little quicker than I’d like, so I try to buy quality boots at a good price point; the key is quality, but not so expensive that they break the bank when I buy them every couple of years. [Smart Pak]