For the second straight day we get the pleasure of introducing a new sponsor to Eventing Nation. World Equestrian Brands, as the name suggests, has a variety of premium equestrian brands, including Amerigo saddles, Amerigo Vega saddles, Vespucci bridles, E.A. Mattes pads, and Equilibrium boots. Over the next few weeks we will introduce Eventing Nation to these brands and why they are some of the best brands in the entire equestrian world. Be sure to check out their new catalog which is available on their website. Visit the World Equestrian Brands website at:
Thank you to World Equestrian Brands for supporting Eventing Nation. Now for your news and notes…
–If you missed the late news Sunday night, Australia has filled their coaching vacancy left by the great Wayne Roycroft by hiring Prue Barrett. I spoke with a member of the Australian program who told me that Prue is well liked and respected, and that she would be serving as “performance director” rather than coach. Apparently the riders will be allowed (and encouraged) to work with their own coaches and Prue will just oversee their development. The Australian press release made a big deal out of Prue being a female coach, but I think there are just as many great women coaches in eventing (perhaps more) than great male coaches, so it’s about time that we start seeing ladies in control of national programs. One of the best things about eventing is the equal treatment and competition of the sexes and that should extend up to coaching countries. Prue takes over one of the most successful eventing programs over the past 20 years, and Eventing Nation wishes her and the Aussie Team all the best moving forward.
–Jennifer Wooten-DaFoe and The Good Witch won an absolutely stacked intermediate division at Galway. The division included top eventing names like Gin N’ Juice, The Alchemyst, Coal Creek, Ballinakill Glory, Leyland, Ringwood Magister, and R-Star. Being the first event of the season, I don’t put too much weight into the final placings, but just looking at that division shows how powerful West Coast US eventing could be this year. As a quick aside, from what I have heard Amy is staying out west this year to do most of her spring training. [Galway Results]
–At the Poplar Place horse trials, Werner Geven won two divisions, including the open intermediate at his home farm. Nina Ligon won a three horse open intermediate/preliminary division–on three of her horses. [Poplar Place Results]
–Congrats to the Packers on a great Super Bowl win. Jon Holling is the biggest Packers fan I know in eventing, and he invited me to the Holling party as long as I didn’t root for the Steelers. But, the thought of seeing Jon topless with a green “G” painted on his chest was sufficient deterrent to keep me away–that and the 600 miles separating me from Ocala. To all of our Steeler fans around Eventing Nation, I wouldn’t worry too much about the loss because you are making it to one out of every two Super Bowls these days and there is always next year.
–The best Super Bowl commercials were either the tv stars wearing NFL jerseys, the Camaro commercial, or the E-Trade baby with the coughing cat right at the end. The Eminem commercial was a complete flop, and I even like Eminem. What was your favorite commercial?
–The Black Eyed Peas were awful at halftime, which was to be expected, not only becuase their music is mediocre but because they need a studio and massive computers to make themselves sound better. I’m not going to lie, I like a few of their singles, but there were so many better choices for the Super Bowl halftime show.
–We will be taking a break from training sessions today, both for my mental soundness and just because four straight days of training session coverage seems like it would be over-saturation. I hope to make it to at least one more day of the Aiken training sessions before Mark and the team personnel head to California.
–Two quick notes from the last training session rides that I watched on Sunday are that Doug Payne’s Running Order really impressed me with his presence in the arena and quality of gaits, and that Jennie told Mark she was planning to target a spring CCI3* with Cambalda. I give Jennie a lot of credit for taking her time developign Ping despite the temptations that can result from being so successful last autumn.
–One thing that I forgot to mention in my training session recaps is that all of the riders I saw wore their helmets. The team requested that the riders wear helmets, but they didn’t make it mandatory, so it was great to see that so many of our top riders decided to play it safe. Ultimately, there is a lot of public pressure right now to not be seen without your helmet on. While I am not supportive of publicly criticizing people for not wearing a helmet, we do of course praise people for wearing their helmets here on EN and we fully support the practice.
–Speaking of helmets, Riders4Helmets is hosting a photo contest where you can submit photos of wearing your helmet in situations other than riding. It’s a fun idea to promote the importantce of helemets. [Riders4Helmets]
—Totilas and Rath made their first public appearance in Germany [TJR]
—Long distance horse transport rules might be tightened in the UK [H&H]
—Jack and Jill are getting into a routine [Adventures of Jack and Jill]
–Felicity Foxhunter says “puce” is the color of the upcoming equestrian season. I suppose if anyone would know, it would be Felicity Foxhunter [Horsetalk]
An oldie but goodie:
–That’s all for now. We have a busy and exciting day planned on Eventing Nation, so keep it locked for all of your eventing fun, news, links, and ridiculousness. See you soon…
