Shamwari 4 hams for the camera. Photo via the USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook page.
Another WEG year has come and gone, and the U.S. horses are enjoying some well-deserved downtime before being brought back into work. Horses are unique in that each individual requires a different training program. While some horses can come home from competition and go right back to work, others prefer to have some time to roll around in the pasture and be as lazy as possible before the work begins again.
Reggie looking scruffy and quite pleased with himself! Photo courtesy of Buck Davidson.
Fortunately, we as riders know our horses inside and out, and we know what program works best for each one. While some of the WEG horses have competed since traveling to France, others are still on vacation or are just now coming back into work. No matter what the plan is, it looks like they’re all happy and healthy – the biggest win at the end of the day.
So, how exactly are the WEG horses spending their downtime? We’ll give you three guesses, and we’re fairly confident you won’t need them all!
Manoir de Carneville with his Irish Draught friend. Photo courtesy of Meg Kep.
Looks like most of the horses’ days are filled with sunshine, grass, and maybe a pasture mate or two. Although it seems that Ballynoe Castle RM (Reggie) may have an extra babysitter keeping an eye out for him:
Riley, super groom Kathleen Blauth-Murray’s daughter, and Reggie. Photo courtesy of Buck Davidson.
And don’t forget everyone’s favorite Flying Deer, who’s just coming back into work after taking a vacation after WEG. We think he’s sharing some insight with himself on how to continue to take over the world:
Donner returns to work after two months off. Photo via USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook page.
We can’t wait to see these horses and their riders back out in action this spring, but in the meantime we’re happy to see everyone enjoying some much needed downtime after another grueling season. We’ll see you next year!
