Wednesday News & Notes from SRF Carolina International

We’ve been monitoring the heavy storms that have lashed the West coast to start 2023, causing heavy flooding in both burn areas as well as locations more prone to drought than not. I’m situated in the Bay area of northern California these days, and while our neighborhood escaped much of the damage thanks to the mountains nearby taking the brunt of the storm, many have fared far worse.

A bit further south from here is Paso Robles, which is home to Twin Rivers Ranch. The facility certainly has an appropriate name this week as storm waters caused a massive surge of flooding throughout the property.

“We survived the night!” Twin Rivers-based Bec Braitling wrote on Instagram yesterday. “The River dropped enough to reveal the damage. Overall…. Not too bad!!! The jumps all survived (for the most part, some moved a little 😂) but there’s a LOT of river action. The lower field has some debris but the ground/ tracks are going to recover just fine. We have the best team at Twin and everyone pitched in last night to save the things that really float. It’s going to take a bit of work to get things back to how they were but if anyone can do it it’s these guys.”

Take a look at some scenes from Twin Rivers:

No updates yet on how we can help the venue, but we’ll certainly keep an eye out for more information and will share anything else that is shared in the coming days.

Elsewhere in California, therapeutic program and public riding school CBC Equine, located in Elk Grove, suffered massive flood damage to its barns. The nonprofit organization has posted an Amazon wish list of items needed to help the program get back on its feet.

If you’d like to donate an item or a few from CBC Equine’s Amazon wish list, click here.

I know this is not an all-inclusive list of facilities affected by the storms, so if your program could use some visibility, please tip us by emailing [email protected].

[AP News: Latest Updates on California Flooding]

U.S. Weekend Preview – Welcome back, everyone!

Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks (Ocala, FL): [Website] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Ram Tap Horse Park Combined Test (Fresno, CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Wednesday News & Reading

Today we’re remembering much-loved eventing supporter Jean Horst Gore, who passed away last weekend at the age of 87. Perhaps best known in the eventing community for her leadership and service to the Maryland Combined Training Association (MCTA), Jean could always be found volunteering or otherwise supporting the events she loved. [In Memoriam: Jean Horst Gore]

I’m all for an deep-dive on the good old r/oddlysatisfying now and then, and it turns out farrier work falls under this category. Ok, maybe all 270 million people who saw this magical farriery saw the video on TikTok, but same concept applies. In fact, the video uploaded by Sam Dracott became the most-viewed TikTok uploaded in the UK last year. Wild! Don’t worry, I’ve got the video for you (click here if the embedded TikTok doesn’t show up in your browser):

@samdracott_farrier Satisfying!! #samdracottfarrier #farrier #asmr #oddlysatisfying #horsetok #farmtok #horses #horse #satisfying ♬ original sound – Sam Dracott Farrier

US Equestrian is currently seeking bids for the 2024-2026 North American Youth Championships across disciplines, including eventing (National Eventing Team Championship for Juniors and Young Riders). US Equestrian and the organizing committee National Federation must receive applications before 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, for consideration. [Bid Process Open for 2024-2026 NAYC]

A new pilot series, FEI Eventing World Challenge, designed to introduce eventing to more nations will begin in 2023. The new series, which will run in the disciplines of Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Vaulting and Para Dressage, has been developed as an introduction to the sport, serving as an education basis at grassroots level. [More details available for 2023 FEI Eventing World Challenge]

Do you know a rising equine media star who deserves some recognition? Nominations are closing soon for the 2023 AHP Equine Media NextGen Award, given to “an up-and-coming professional who has made a significant impact in advancing equine media while upholding journalistic excellence, integrity, and trust in a competitive communications world”. The nomination deadline is January 31. [AHP Equine Media NextGen Awards]

Sponsor Corner: Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International

One of the best parts of Carolina International is the annual Painted Ponies Art Walk, hosted to benefit the Carolina Horse Park Foundation through the auction of several exquisitely painted, life-size “ponies”. We can’t wait to see the unveiling of this year’s Painted Ponies!

Wednesday Video Break

Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate. Photo by Jenni Autry.

We love a good “where are they now?” update, and here’s one from one of my personal favorite 5* horses, Meghan O’Donoghue’s Pirate! The OTTB-that-could is 20 this year, but it feels like yesterday we saw him storming around Kentucky!

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