Wednesday News & Notes from SmartPak

"I, too, enjoy the bagels." Don't lie, Dante. #danteisourking #horsesofinstagram

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Sometimes the kids beg and beg and beg for something that you know they won’t like. Shockingly, when they finally get it, they don’t like it. And yet somehow, that doesn’t keep them begging for more….

National Holiday: National Golf, Frappe, or Kale Day (You do you.)

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Course Brook Farm H.T.  [Website] [Live Scores]

Kent School Fall H.T. [Website] [Live Scores]

WindRidge Farm Fall H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Maryland at Loch Moy H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Scores]

Radnor Hunt H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Middle Tennessee Pony Club H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Heritage Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Willow Draw Charity H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Woodside International CIC & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

The Event at Skyline H.T.  [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Your Wednesday News & Notes:

The Jacqueline Mars Competition and Training Grants have been awarded. Tamie Smith, Alexis Helffrich, and Jordan Linstedt have all been awarded the grants to travel to Fair Hill from the West Coast. Tamie and Jordan have already made a splash this fall competing at events like Stable View and Plantation Field, while Alexis is arriving in time for Fair Hill. [National Competition Grants Awarded]

Virginia Horse Trials is offering an Intercollegiate Challenge. At the request of riders, Virginia Horse Trials is holding a team challenge for intercollegiate students. Riders from Beginner Novice to CCI2* are allowed to participate, with each level weighted differently. [Intercollegiate Team Challenge Added]

It takes a lot of hay to keep a Thoroughbred charity running. With almost 3 million pounds of hay per year required to keep the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation operating, it can take a village to get what they need. The Geoffrey Hughes Foundation has kindly agreed to match up to $50,000 in donations, so it’s up to us to help the TRF meet their fundraising goal. [Donate to the HayDrive]

SmartPak Product of the Day: I’ve gone through a lot of icing products in an effort to find what works best for me and my horse and after a lot of time and money, I settled on Jack’s Whirlpool Boots. They don’t take too much ice or water, the horses stand in them great after they learn they aren’t scary, and nothing gets the legs colder than straight ice and water. [SmartPak]