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Eventing Competition Coverage: July 2010 Archives

Young Riders XC Video and Notes

By John on July 31, 2010 6:10 PM, Filed Under
One thing that caught me by surprise is that there are literally thousands of horses competing at the Kentucky Horse Park this weekend.  The KHP is simultaneously hosting Young Riders and several other competitions, including what one organizer said is the largest KHP hunter/jumper show in his memory.  Even with all of the old barns and the new barns (built for the WEGs), the Horse Park had to put up tent stabling to accommodate all of the horses.  When I walked past Frank Madden's stalls and saw a 40' x 20' living area with two paintings, a huge mirror, an ornate wooden table, and several very comfortable looking chairs, I thought to myself: that's a whole different World, but I like ours better.

The purpose of holding several big events simultaneously is presumably to prepare the Horse Park for the WEGs, and it seemed to me that the Horse Park personnel did a great job keeping things organized today--it never felt crowded.  The WEG influences could clearly be seen at the Young Riders competition, including the use of photo barn passes, and the terrific veterinary team led by Chris Newton, who is a WEG head vet and EN favorite.


EN Videos:





As a brief aside, one very well respected person that I spoke with said that horse sales do not seem to be improving, but that lessons and leases have increased recently.  The most likely explanation for these circumstances is that people do not want to spend the money to buy a new horse, but are instead investing in improving the one they have or leasing a different one.  Either way, it's still a very tough market out there.  If you have been trying to sell a horse or are looking to buy one, don't forget to check out www.sporthorsenation.com.  We have multiple repeat customers posting classifieds, which I interpret as a sign that they got a positive response from their first classified.


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Several jump safety devices were being used today, including frangible pins, and the above Prolog, which was the first element of the bounce into the intermediate water.  From what I heard, one Prolog broke today.  

We'll have more on this early next week, but the WEG cross-country course is already well under construction and it looks superb.  The 4* galloping paths are already roped off and the footing is  already being groomed to be perfect for October.


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Love to see the Ecogold pad--you know that saddle didn't slip, and the pad is bomb proof

I heard about one rotational fall, but the on-scene paramedic told me that the horse and rider were both fine.  The rider was wearing a Point-Two, and, without prompting, the paramedic said "thank God for those air vests, I thought they were a sham at first but I saw them at Rolex and here and they are saving lives."  Go eventing.
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A Great Saturday at Young Riders

By John on July 31, 2010 1:44 PM, Filed Under
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3...2...1...have a good ride

It was raining at the Kentucky Horse Park early this morning, but the clouds parted soon after the cross country started and the sun poured down on a great day of XC riding.  Overall, I give the day two big thumbs up, and not just because of the weather.

The overall quality of riding was fantastic, and it was easily the best I have ever seen at Young Riders.  The riders were mature about setting their horses up well before the fences and the horses finished the course looking good, especially in the 1*.  I think a lot of the credit for the good riding goes to a very quality group of coaches that has developed in the Young Rider program, such as EN favorites Jon Holling, Kyle Carter, and Rebecca Howard.  

In the individual 2* competition, Kentucky natives Lauren Lambert and Baba Creek had a great ride to move up 4 spots and into the lead.  Julia Norman and Sauvignon had the only 2* double clear of the day and moved into 2nd.  The time was influential in the 2*, with only three riders having less than 4 time penalties.

1. Lauren Lambert and Baba Creek +0.8  53.6
2. Julia Norman and Sauvignon +0 53.7
3. Kelly Pugh and Copycat Chloe +4  55.9
4. Karen Shull and Fernhull Figaro +4.8  57.2



Some of the early one-star riders had minor issues on course, but the rides quickly started going well and 80% of the one-star riders had clean rounds, with 17 double-clears on the day.  Overnight leader Kelly Loria had a great round on her horse LSD, to hold onto her lead going into the show jumping.  The top four one-star riders all had double-clears.  Peekachu has been a fantastic Young Rider horse for many years, and looked great around the course today to keep Claire Kelley in second.

1. Kelly Loria and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds +0 40.0 
2. Claire Kelley and Clifton Peekachu +0 42.5 
3. Kendyl Tracy and Ever So Lucky +0 48.5 
4. Rowdie Jo Adams and No Money Down +0 48.5



In the team competitions, the Area V & IX 2* team had 4 clean rides to maintain their overnight lead.  The Area VI & VII were very impressive, adding just 18 penalties for all three riders and closed the gap to just 13 points behind the fist placed Area V & IX team.  In the one-star, the Fighting Hollings jumped from second to first by adding--get this--0 penalties to their team score for the day.  The Area V and Area IX teams also finished the day on their collective dressage score.  Well done!  If the US team can do that at the WEGs, we will win in a landslide.  


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Air conditioned fans kept the horses cool

I give the David O'Connor designed courses a grade of A+.  My idea of a perfect Young Riders 2* course is for the course to be safe and for the time to be influential, which it was today.  A perfect YR 1* course is safe and pretty easy to make the time, which it was today.  David gave all the riders a great flowing first minute to calm their nerves and let the horses settle into their gallop.

A big thanks to Rebecca Howard and Samantha Clark for saving the day.  Being an idiot, I forgot my phone charger and video camera when I left for the trip to Lexington.  Rebecca kindly loaned me a phone charger, and Samantha gave me her video camera to use.  

This is just a quick recap post, check back later this afternoon for video and more ridiculousness, including a vet review and the reason there are thousands of horses at the KHP this weekend.  Go eventing. 

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Kelly Loria leads Young Riders CH-J*

By John on July 30, 2010 2:25 PM, Filed Under
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The photo isn't blurry, you just need glasses

This post is going to be brief because the Eventing Nation corporate jet is in the repair shop and so I have a long drive to Lexington ahead of me today.  Kelly Loria and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds topped the Young Riders one-star dressage by 2.5 points with a 40.0.  I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for why the horse is named "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," but it makes me wonder if the USEA or FEI has a letter limit on horse names, and, if so, how does that name not exceed that limit?  The Tracy sisters are having a good weekend so far with Anisa leading the 2* and Kendyl placed third in the 1*.

1. Kelly Loria and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds  40.0
2. Claire Kelley and Clifton Peekachu  42.5
3T. Kendyl Tracy and Ever So Lucky  48.5
3T. Rowdie Jo Adams and No Money Down  48.5
5 Katherine Martineau and HM As Spirits Go  49.0

The hometown Area VI, VII, & VIII team are leading the team competition, with Jon Holling's Area IV squad lurking in second, just four points back.


Go eventing.
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94 Burghley Entries

By John on July 30, 2010 2:10 PM, Filed Under


JER was kind enough to let us know that the Burghley entries have been posted.  Wonderful Will and Michael Pollard are the only US entries.  Great Britain has 63 entries.  There are several potential WEG horses in the list, including Miners Frolic which presents an interesting situation since Burghley is only a few weeks before the Games.  Go eventing.
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Central American Games Report

By John on July 29, 2010 6:04 PM, Filed Under
Jon Holling is a busy guy.  He spent last week coaching the Puerto Rican team at the Central American Games, and this week he is in Lexington coaching the Area IV YR team.  I had a chance to catch up with Jon Thursday morning to chat about the Central American Games, which will hereafter be called the "CAGs"--not the same ring to it as "WEGs", but functional.  

A few years ago the higher-ups at the USEF and FEI decided to get top riders to help develop eventing teams in Central America.  Ignoring the fact that the US has such a sterling record of sending experts to equip and train people in foreign countries, this coaching exchange program seems to have been a big success at the CAGs.  And by 'exchange program', I mean that US riders like Jon Holling and Allison Springer gave their valuable time in exchange for the satisfaction of knowing they helped spread our sport.

The CAGs were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is south east of Miami by about 1000 miles.  There were 35 competitors from 6 countries, including Puerto Rico (Jon), Haiti (coached by Allison), and Mexico (Brian Sabo).  Eventing is still a developing sport in Central America so the competition was held at the CIC* level.  In speaking with Jon, he was impressed with the quality of horses and riders.  The winning dressage score was 44--by one of Jon's students.  That said, Jon was very critical about the preparation of the XC course by the organizers.  The organizers had not put sufficient turf over the course and so the horses were either galloping over "straight mud" or crushed limestone roads.  Try studding for that combination of surfaces.

Most of the competitors were converts from show jumping or other disciplines.  Two of Jon's Puerto Rican team members had worked with Jon in the US for the past year and they were the most experienced competitors at the CAGs, having competed in 12-13 events each.

Jon said that he was most impressed by the enthusiasm of the Central American crowd.  Several thousand spectators showed up and cheered loudly for all the riders.  According to Jon, XC day almost had the feel of a football game in the States, which bodes well for the growth of eventing in Central America.  By the way, Mexico won the team competition.   

Thanks to Jon for taking the time to chat with me, and, more importantly, for his never-ending quest to improve and grow our sport.  Jon operates Holling Eventing, with his lovely wife Jen,  in Ocala, FL.  I'd highly recommend Jon as a coach, and I'm grateful that he is going to be a leader in our sport for many years to come.  Go eventing.

*Note: Just to clarify the photo of Tony, the red tape is running parallel to the horse's direction of travel, and is of course not in the landing area after the fence like the unfortunate red tape at the Central Russian Games (CRGs) that caused so many problems.
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Anisa Tracy and Tigger VIII lead Young Riders 2*

By John on July 29, 2010 2:25 PM, Filed Under


Anisa Tracy and Tigger VIII represented Colorado eventing well today by taking a 6.5 point lead at the Young Riders 2* on a 45.4.  Anisa's strong dressage score also puts the Area V & IX team into the lead, just ahead of the Flying Carters from Area III.  

Individual: 
1. Anisa Tracy and Tigger VIII  45.4
2T. Kelly Pugh and Copycat Chloe  51.9
2T. Devon Brown and Dynamic Image  51.9
4. Karen Shull and Fernhill Figaro  52.4
5T. Lauren Lambert and Baba Creek  52.8
5T. Danielle Dichting and Tops  52.8


Team:
1. Area V & IX  158.7
2. Flying Carters  163.0
3. Canada  166.3
4. Area II, IV & VIII  174.3
5. Area VI & VII  176.0



Anisa works with Jan Byyny in Virginia, so a quick shout out to Surefire eventing.  Just don't jump miscellaneous bank complexes in the water on Saturday Anisa.  Glancing at, at least one of the names on the 2* list, I'm ok with the idea of advanced pairs competing at young riders, I just don't root for them. The CH-J* dressage is on Friday.  I'll be traveling to Lexington for Saturday and Sunday to write about Young Riders by day and hang out with friends from high school by night.  Needless to say, I will probably not be live blogging the Sunday morning jog.  Go eventing.
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Aston Le Walls Report from Samantha Clark

By John on July 26, 2010 1:11 PM, Filed Under
During the weekend I mentioned that Mandiba's full brother High Kingdom was competing with Zara Phillips at the Aston Le Walls advanced event in the UK this weekend.  The Aston Le Walls event is a British WEG prep event and was attended by several members of the british team.  Samantha Clark, a good friend of Eventing Nation and host of the 2010 Radio Show attended Aston Le Walls in England this weekend and sent us a report.  For mroe great reports in the future, be sure to follow Samantha on Twitter.  Thanks for writing this Samantha and thank you for reading.
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From Samantha: 

Five full sections of advanced ran this weekend at Aston le Walls, which is Nigel and Ann Taylor's farm.  The dressage was squashed into an outdoor arena, 2 20x60's crammed in right next to each other, and everyone warmed up in one 20x60 arena, so often 8 people riding together, but it worked.

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The "Lexington rails"

The XC course was designed by Nigel Taylor  who also rode round his own course at the competition.  The XC was inviting and encouraged forward riding.  There were lots of narrow but wide tables, two corners, and four combinations where you had to jump off a bank and then down a slope to a combination or a corner.  The cross country course was lovely overall, and they made a real effort with the going because there had hardly been any rain.  They used many galloping lanes with woodchips, some watering, and lots of aerovating. 


Andrew Nicholson had lots of rides and all of them were pretty good.  Out of everyone I watched all day, no one rides away from a fence as economically as he does--not a second wasted.  


Tina Cook looked wonderful on Miner's Frolic and he was 1st after dressage, one down in show jumping, and looked terrific on the XC. Mark Todd was of course all class and William F-P looked splendid as always!  Piggy French was an incredibly stylish rider on cross country and was probably one of the best show jumpers. Mary King competed Imperial Cavalier but I did not see them go. 

Mark Todd won a section.  Pippa Funnell won dressage then withdrew Redesigned but rode several others.  Oli Townend rode a few but withdrew Ashdale Cruise Master after dressage and then spent a long, late afternoon in the sponsors' tent.  Dan Jocelyn won two sections but looked to be schooling Special Attorney around.

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Alex Hua Tian and Magenta  

I had a long chat with Alex Hua Tian, who won his section on Magenta. He thinks he may not be coming to WEG after all because of the huge expense involved. He also shared that he doesn't think the WEG will ever be held outside Europe again, his point being that it's just not viable financially, and that the WEGs are supposed to be about all horse disciplines together, especially the satellite ones.  This year, few people can afford to send full teams, if any horses at all of the satellite disciplines.  So it's more like a 2nd Olympics, and it doesn't even feel like a fair playing field at that.  He also mentioned how expensive accommodation was, and he wasn't the only person I spoke to who felt this way.  He explained it all so nicely and politely, and is such a charming man, it was hard to argue!


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WFP's lorry

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Inside Willaim's lorry

I also spoke to William F-P for quite a long time, about many things (!), but particularly about how excited he is about the WEGs.  Cool Mountain's owner Teresa Stopford-Sackville is thrilled, and I'm going to try and persuade her to come on 2010 show.  She is so lovely but a bit shy, but has great stories to tell.  William rode 5 round the advanced, all clear XC.  Several of his rides were younger horses, but Seacookie went well for him as well. 

I spoke to Tina Cook briefly who said Miner's Frolic (Henry) is in fine form and gave her a brilliant ride all day.  But she said it was hard because of the pressure of everyone watching her so intensely, and the selectors particularly want to see her go at Hartpury.  She also talked about her kids a bit--she was very down to earth, very sweet, with a lovely sense of humour.  

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Mary King's lorry

There is such depth in England and it is so great for your riders to go to an event and compete alongside that calibre of riders every weekend, not to mention being able to watch them go.  Overall, it was a wonderful weekend!
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Karen O'Connor and Mandiba Win Rebecca CIC3*

By John on July 25, 2010 4:07 PM, Filed Under
Karen and Mandiba jumped a double clear to win the CIC3* at Rebecca Farm.  Mandiba was the only horse in the CIC3* to finish on his dressage score, he led wire to wire, and he won by over 12 points.  Obviously the win is due to the EN Karma boost Karen got from being the guest on our live blog Saturday.  

Buck Davidson and My Boy Bobby moved up an impressive three spots to finish in second with one of three double clears on the day.  Phillip and TruLuck had a disappointing 4 rails to drop to third.  Hawley Bennett and Ginny had two rails and dropped to fourth but they still had a great weekend overall.  

1. Karen O'Connor and Mandiba +0 44.2
2. Buck Davidson and Bobby +0 56.4
3. Phillip and TruLuck +16 61.8
4. Hawley Bennett and Ginny +8 63.6
5. Sharon White and Rafferty's Rules +4 64.6


The short listed horses for the US and Canada ruled the CIC3*, with the top three places going to the US short listers, and Hawley Bennett taking the fourth place for Canada.

High Patriot was in fourth after the XC, but withdrew prior to the stadium.  I got word this morning that everyone was working hard to get High Patriot through the jog, and Phillip jogged him for Mara.  I haven't heard yet why High Patriot withdrew before the show jumping, but I'm guessing it was related to that.

Tiana Coudray wrapped up a tough weekend in the CIC3* by missing fence 10 in the show jumping.  Ringwood Magister is undoubtedly the real deal and we will see them winning again soon.  Tiana had a better weekend in the CCI2*, winning that division on Master Hill.
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Hannah Burnett and Harbor Pilot finished on their dressage score to win the P3D for owner Jacqueline Mars.  
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Now for some insanity from Chelan:

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Becky's golf cart

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Hannah in Boyd's jacket

5

Sunday Hot Links

By John on July 25, 2010 10:52 AM, Filed Under


It's show jumping Sunday at Rebecca Farm, and you can follow all the action here at EN:



Word from the jog is that First Mark was held and then spun, but everyone else passed.  Also, I just got a text that number 516 (Federico Daners) was unbraided in the CIC3* jog.  I'm not too worried about it, although if Visionaire were around today I think she might have a heart attack.  I have just never heard of an unbraided horse at a 3* jog. 

Update: Amusingly, the USEA Jog Photos do not include Federico jogging his horse.

Tiana Coudray explains the interesting situation regarding Ringwood Magister's 'refusal' in her blog.  Apparently she got off her line and jumped through the flag on the skinny out of the sunken road.  Tiana didn't know whether they were going to count a refusal so she (smart) circled and asked the jump judge.  Unfortunately, the jump judge didn't know either and a lot of time was wasted before they finally told her she had a stop.  She jumped the alternate and carried on, but had the 20 penalties and a lot of time.  Of course, if she hand continued with her course and jumped the next jump and they had counted her with the refusal she would have been eliminated, but I wonder if the jump judge would have just watched her gallop off and said she was clear.  In those situations it's usually a question of how big your 'halo' is (as Jimmy calls it).

The CIC3* show jumping starts at 3:20PM ET, and I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that either Mandiba or TruLuck will win.  The good news for Karen is that she has some major EN Karma going after yesterday's live blog.  As for the advanced division, we all know what I think about Titanium's jumping style, but Buck makes it work somehow and Titanium's show jumping is rapidly improving.

Go eventing.


6

RIP Chauncy

By John on July 24, 2010 7:30 PM, Filed Under
As we reported earlier this afternoon, Suzy Elliott's horse Chauncy died on the advanced XC course at Rebecca Farm from a cardiac hemorrhage.  Press Release from Rebecca Farm:

"It is with deepest regret that we announce that "Chauncy," horse number 63 ridden by Suzy Elliott, collapsed while competing in the Advanced division at The Event at Rebecca Farm, Kalispell, MT, USA on Saturday, July 24, 2010. Suzy Elliott is from Yelm, WA. 

Elliott was riding Chauncy, an 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by her husband, Jonathan Elliott. 

Chauncy collapsed following a second run out at fence 16A. Elliott had dismounted before Chauncy collapsed. There was a full paramedic and veterinary team present within moments after the collapse. Chauncy was taken to LaSalle Veterinary Hospital, Kalispell, MT, for a necropsy. The necropsy revealed a cardiac hemorrhage."

Eventing Nation's thoughts and prayers are with Suzy and her family tonight.
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Karen and Mandiba Deliver Double Clear

By John on July 24, 2010 2:47 PM, Filed Under
Update: We have some bad news from the Rebecca Farms advanced as the word is that Suzy Elliott's horse Chauncy reportedly died on course. No word yet on exactly why.  Full disclosure, this news is coming to me from several good sources, but there will surely be an official press release later, which we will pass along as soon as we get it.  Suzy is apparently fine, and our thoughts and prayers are with Suzy and her family.
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After a 20 minute hold on course, Karen and Mandiba came through in the clutch to maintain their lead in the Rebecca Farm CIC3*-W.  Phillip Dutton and TruLuck were second after the dressage and posted a double clear early to put pressure on everyone else.  As rider after rider crossed the finish line with time penalties, it started to feel like so many Saturdays in the past where Phillip blasted around the XC and took a big lead.  But then Karen and Mandiba started on course.   They had been on course for a few minutes when Max McManamy fell (more on that below) and the Max's hold lasted around 20 minutes.  Karen used her great experience to keep Mandiba focused and they posted a double clear after the long hold to take their lead into the show jumping on Sunday.

1. Karen O'Connor and Mandiba +0  44.2
2. Phillip Dutton and TruLuck +0  45.8
3. Hawley Bennett and Gin N' Juice +6  55.6
4. Mara Dean and High Patriot +8.4  55.8
5. Buck and My Boy Bobby +5.2  56.4


(1) The word is that Max McManamy fell at the sunken road, the horse looked fine, but they put tarps around Max.  They decided not to airlift Max, but she was transported to a hospital by ambulance.  For what it's worth, apparently they announced that she was taken for observation of her ribs.  Kelly Prather and Debbie Rosen also fell in the CIC3*, but they are both reportedly fine.

(2) As I mentioned, Karen was held on course after Max's fall, and apparently her wait was exacerbated because they had to wait for another ambulance to arrive on scene.  It's hard to overstate the challenge to the horse of getting half-way around a 3* course and then having to walk in a small circle for 20 minutes.  Making matters more difficult, the restart tends to create time penalties because it takes a few moments to get the horse back up to full speed.  It shows a lot of maturity from Mandiba and a great mental focus from Karen to run clean and fast with a huge hold in the middle.  No word yet on whether Karen used a cell phone during the hold to order Chinese food.

(3) Buck Davidson and My Boy Bobby moved up one spot to 5th with 5.2 penalties.  So far this has been a good day for the US short list with the only two double clears of the day in Mandiba and Truluck, and just a few time penalties for Bobby.  

(4) The road to the WEGs keeps looking promising for the Canadians with Hawley Bennet and Ginny moving up two places into 3rd with a strong XC ride.  I keep waiting for a least a small chink to show in the Canadian armor, but the Maple Leafs keep looking like the real deal.

(5) Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister picked up a disappointing 20 penalties at fence #20, the sunken road, which caused the most issues (3) for the CIC3*.  The good news for Tiana is that her CCI2* horse, Mater Hill, had a great round today and takes a 10 point lead into the show jumping.  There were 7 issues on course out of 28 starters, meaning the course rode pretty close to statistically average in my guestimation.

(6) As a random aside, Mandiba's full brother High Kingdom is 12th after the dressage with Zara Phillips at the Aston Le Walls advanced event in the UK this weekend.

(7) The CIC3* is a two horse race going into Sunday with Phillip and Truluck less than a rail behind Mandiba, and the next closest rider more than 9 points back.
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In the advanced: Buck davidson and Titanium showed why they deserved to be added to the short list last week with a double clear in the Rebecca Farm advanced.  Amy Tryon had a very solid day, picking up 6 time penalties combined on Coal Creek and the short listed Leyland.  Jumping around 2 advanced XC courses less than two hours apart is a great sign that Amy's knee must be doing a lot better.

For a look at the CIC3* course, be sure to check out the video I added to our 'Hot Links' post this afternoon.  They used a remote control helicopter with a camera on it to film the whole course.  Pretty sweet.

Much more soon, including the live blog with Karen at 6PM ET.  Go eventing.
6

Saturday Hot Links from Rebecca Farm

By John on July 24, 2010 10:51 AM, Filed Under
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The two most important links of the day for Rebecca Farm are:



The CIC3* and Advanced cross country runs from 1 to 4PM ET.  Also, don't forget that we have Karen O'Connor scheduled to join us for a live blog around 6PM ET.  Tell your friends, family, and horses.


Fitch's Corner HT (NY): Live Scores
Hunter Oaks HT (IL): Live Scores
Briar Fox Farm (KS): Homepage
Gemwood HT (OH): Live Scores
Aspen Ridge HT (CO): Omnibus Page

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Rebecca Farm CIC3* XC Course Preview with Hannah Burnett

By John on July 24, 2010 10:30 AM, Filed Under
Hannah Burnett has 2 horses competing at Rebecca Farm, one in the Prelim 3DE and another in the CIC3*, but she was kind enough to take time out of her extremely busy schedule to send us a preview of the CIC3* course.  Photos are courtesy of the Rebecca Farm 2009 course walk, Hannah, and Chelan.  Thanks for writing this Hannah and thank you for reading.
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#1,2 & 3 are very inviting fences up hill to #4, the first fence w/ some size to it, a big table landing downhill.  Continuing downhill to #5, which is a very elaborately created snake placed 1 stride into the water in a small, shallow water jump. 

A quick gallop to 6ab-a big duck into water & 8 forward strides to another duck out. 

A big oxer at 7 precedes 8ab which are 2 cabins on a good angle.  There's a ditch & wall at 9.
Rebeccaditchandwall.jpg

Click the link below to read the rest of the preview
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****Continue reading Rebecca Farm CIC3* XC Course Preview with Hannah Burnett.

Karen O'Connor and Mandiba Rule Rebecca Farm Dressage

By John on July 23, 2010 7:43 PM, Filed Under

Karen and Mandiba were one of the last rides on Friday at the Rebecca Farm CIC3*-W, but they saved the best for last and took the lead over Phillip Dutton and TruLuck.  Karen was the only rider to be given scores higher than 70% by all three judges and carries a 1.6 point lead into the cross country tomorrow.

1. Karen O'Connor and Mandiba  44.2
2. Phillip Dutton and TruLuck  45.8
3. Mara Dean and High Patriot  47.4
4. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister  49.2
5. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin N' Juice  49.6
6. Buck Davidson and My Boy Bobby  51.2


There is absolutely no surprise seeing Mara Dean and High Patriot in third with a 47.4, nor Tiana Coudray in 4th.  All three short listed horses accomplished what they needed to today, although Bobby has the most ground to make up, trailing Mandiba by 7 points.

We will have more on the cross country later, but the word from the riders is that the CIC3* course is pretty intimidating, so I anticipate Saturday to be a good test for all the riders.


Tiana Coudray had a great Friday on more than one horse and leads the CCI2* with Master Hill.  Karen is in second with Quintus 54, who Rebecca Broussard purchased earlier this year.  Quin's flatwork has come a long way since he came to OCET.


Rebecca Farm is generously hosting a Preliminary Three-Day, which Hannah Burnett and Harbor Pilot are leading on a 30.6.  
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In other news, somebody who shall remain anonymous made special modifications to their Rebecca Farm golf cart.  The photos were submitted by Chelan Kosak.  You should visit Chelan's blog regularly for more mayhem.

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golfcart2.jpg


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Good question
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Two things I'm sure everyone already knows about:

(1) Karen has generously added Eventing Nation into her Saturday schedule for a live blog at 6PM ET.  

(2) We have added 'like' buttons below each post.  Gauging what our readers like is extremely important to us here at Eventing Nation because it helps us to provide more of the good stuff.  If you like something, let us know by clicking the button.  Also, if we don't get enough likes each week I might go on vacation to Siberia.

Go eventing.
5

Rebecca Farm Friday

By John on July 23, 2010 11:41 AM, Filed Under
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Friday is a busy day at Rebecca Farm with nearly 500 competitors.  The CIC3*-W begins at 3PM ET and finishes at 8PM.  With 28 riders, the CIC3*-W competition is wide open.  Three US short listed horses are competing on Friday--Bobby, Mandiba, and TruLuck, and I expect all of them to be in the top 5 after the dressage.  Two younger names to keep an eye on are Hannah Burnet and Tiana Coudray.  We all remember Tiana's dressage performance at Jersey which gave her nearly a 20 point lead going into the XC.  Intermediate, CCI2*, and CCI1* all compete Friday morning, and training and some novice XC also runs on Friday.  Good luck to all the competitors.----
As a brief note, SmartPak's summer sale begins today.  They have tons of great items for sale to help get through the summer heat inferno including icebergs.

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Fitch's Corner HT (NY): Live Scores
Hunter Oaks HT (IL): Live Scores
Briar Fox Farm (KS): Homepage
Gemwood HT (OH): Live Scores
Aspen Ridge HT (CO): Omnibus Page
3

Leslie Law is excited for weekend news and notes

By John on July 18, 2010 8:09 PM, Filed Under
(1) In New York, Leslie Law and Pembridge Swingtime won the Stuart CIC2* today after jumping the only double clear show jumping of the top three riders.  This was Leslie's first competition with Swingtime, who is owned by Missy Miller, and they entered the show jumping in 2nd place.  Leslie's joking (I hope) strategy of giving the lead to Jennie Brannigan seems to have paid off.

There were no horses that finished on their dressage score, but Holly Payne's Madeline was the closest and added just 3.6 penalties over the weekend to move from 14th to finish 7th.  Holly's brother, Doug, beat her by two places and finished in 5th on Running Order.


I spoke with Missy and she explained that Leslie rode the horse because she was at the Area III Young Riders camp at Chattahoochee Hills this week.  I give those Area III riders so much credit for being willing to take a week to help their coach Kyle Carter learn a few things that he might be able to apply to the WEGs.


(2) In Maryland, the prelim and novice competitions went well today.  I saw one tough fall--as I was on course--but the horse and rider were both fine and up moments later.  I give the event two thumbs up for hospitality.  Everyone was extremely nice despite the oppressive heat and the shuttle drivers were amazing.  

Having had time to glance at the scoreboard, the top 5 in the OI-A division on Saturday after the dressage was Ballynoecastle, Bobby, Last Monarch, Andromaque, and Mensa.  Buck did withdraw Bobby before the XC, and the rest of those horses took their time on the XC with other competitions in mind.  

Update: As Polly kindly pointed out in the comment section, Sarah Cousins had a dominant weekend in the Maryland intermediate, with 4 of the top 6 placings in her two intermediate divisions.


(3) In Aachen, Germany, Andrew Nicholson and Nero won the won the CIC3* at the World Equestrian Festival.  



In other news...

Federal authorities worked on Sunday to try to muster up to 500 wild horses at risk of dying from dehydration in Nevada.


1

Weekend reader

By John on July 17, 2010 10:42 PM, Filed Under
It's a bit of a slow weekend of reading on Eventing Nation because I'm slightly predisposed.  As always, the horses come first.  With that in mind, I need to get some sleep for Sunday, so here are some hastily written news and notes.  What could go wrong?

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Maryland horse trials

(1) On a blistering day in Maryland, short listed Last Monarch and Ballynoecastle RM took their time around the windy intermediate XC.  Mark was out coaching this morning and I noticed at least one selector scouting things out as well.  Ballynoecastle RM won his division in the dressage, and Last Monarch scored a solid 33.  I believe that Bobby also did dressage, but I think Buck elected to hold him out of the XC.  The prelim and novice divisions compete Sunday at Maryland.

(2) I saw Will Faudree's mare Andromaque run XC at Maryland, and I'll keep beating the drum that Will has two of the top horses in the country in Pawlow and that mare.  Andromaque will move up to advanced soon and she has all the look of a superstar.

(3) Jennie Brannigan took the lead at the Stuart CIC2* on Saturday with the second fastest XC ride of the day.  Shockingly, Phillip had the only double clear in the CIC2* on Syd Kent, and is just 0.6 behind Jennie going into the show jumping.  Leslie Law is in second place, between the True Prospect pair, and Leslie had one of the least boring quotes I have ever read from a rider in the USEA press release:

"Of course I read Jennie's quote last night and saw that she is getting a bit fed up of finishing second to me," Law explained. "So I thought I would take it a bit easy today and give Jennie some confidence by letting her go into the ring in the lead tomorrow. Swinger is a good jumper, but obviously I am very different physique than Missy so I hope I am able to push the right buttons and have a clean round tomorrow."

USEA press release, live scores, Leslie Mintz photos


(4) In talking with riders at Maryland, many of the short listed horses are on the Milbrook, Richland, AEC track.  The several short listers that are going out to Rebecca Farms will likely also do Richland and then the AECs, which means that Richland is shaping up to be a big-time destination.

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Shade for everyone

(5) Being early to warmup is almost as bad as being late to warmup.

(6) I can't say enough about the great job everyone has done putting the Maryland horse trials.  While I was walking courses today, I was chatting with the volunteers and they seemed to be having a great time despite the heat, and thankfully they were staying well hydrated.  The organizers did a good job making the footing as good as possible with aerator and water trucks.  My only complaint is that the ice quickly ran out in the XC cool-off water tubs, which were sitting in the sun.

(7) One training rider pulled up halfway around the course because she wasn't feeling well.  Apparently she had pneumonia earlier in the week.  Leave it to an eventer to be deathly ill on Wednesday and then go ride in 97 degrees three days later.  With entry costs as high as they are, who can blame her?

(8) It's always incredible for me how my perception of the course difficulty changes depending on the horse I'm riding.  Let's just say that today felt like novice and I feel like I'm gearing up for Burghley on Sunday.

(9) A quick EN shout out to Faye Woolf, who I met while grazing horses Saturday evening around Team Hudspeth.  I try to keep a low profile, but Faye was very kind and complimentary about the site, which I always appreciate.  I'm not sure how people recognize me with the gorilla suit on, but sometimes they do.

(10) Eventers are the coolest people anywhere.  No explanation needed, but for some reason I noticed this more than usual today.

Go eventing.
8

Events this weekend from Tack of the Day

By John on July 16, 2010 1:28 PM, Filed Under
We are now in the middle of deep summer across much of Eventing Nation this weekend.  If you are competing or even just riding in extreme heat, be sure to keep your horse's hydration and temperate at the front of your mind.  

I'll be competing at an undisclosed event this weekend.  My name is Boyd Martin, please come and pour cold water on my head.

I'd like to give a shout out to the Olney Farm horse trials which needs a few more entries to run on July 31st.  This is a farm-based, very old Maryland event geared towards kids on ponies and ammies on greenies -- easy courses, family oriented, over 20 years in existence, run by Ami Howard on her family's 4th generation farm where they raise Shetland ponies.  For more information, visit the USEA's omnibus page.  

----
Stuart CIC**, CIC*, and HT (NY): Homepage, Times/Scores

Coconino Classide 3DE & HT (AZ): Homepage, Times/Scores

The Maryland Horse Trials: Homepage
Notes: Ballynoecastle RM and Last Monarch are entered in the OI at Maryland as they begin their series of events that will hopefully culminate at Kentucky.

Cobblestone Farms (MI): Homepage

Heritage Park (KS): Homepage, Times/Scores

Riga Meadow (CT): Homepage

University of New Hampshire HT: Homepage, Times/Scores

Go eventing.


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0

Events this weekend

By John on July 10, 2010 1:54 PM, Filed Under
The heat might be getting to me, but I'm feeling pretty scatter-brained this afternoon.  The reality of websites is that the finished product that everyone reads is like the tip of the iceberg--I spend a lot more time answering emails, talking with sources, and organizing guest writers than I do actually writing posts.  This will be the rest of my Saturday afternoon.  


Maryland Horse Trials: Karen and Mandiba competed prelim today at the Maryland Horse Trials just to get stretched out before their scheduled advanced run at Rebecca Farms.  Mandiba won the dressage with a 24.6 but had 7.2 XC time penalties and finished in 3rd behind Mara Dean and High Patriot and Phillip Dutton with Why Not.  Phillip won another open prelim division on Jan Byyny's Inmidair.  How would you like to ride in an open preliminary division against two Rolex horses?  Sounds like fun to me.



I also understand that a jumping derby sponsored by Maui Jim is going on this weekend.  Katie Lindsay is organizing the competition and rumor has it that she may send us a report.


Barbury International: The final selection trials before Great Britain announces its WEG short list is the CIC3* at Barbury this weekend.  Ruth Edge and Two Thyme lead a field of 104 pairs on a score of 35.4.  You might remember Ruth Edge and Two Thyme as leading after the first day of dressage at Badminton but they were eliminated on the XC.  Mary King and Imperial Cavalier are in second with a 36.9.  For the record, Dag Albert and Tubber Rebel of Sweden are sitting in 104th place with a 91.5, but I expect them to move up because the horse must surely be a good jumper--right?  I understand that both jumping phases will be held on Sunday, and I believe lec will be attending the event on Sunday with her camera.  


Andrew Hoy's CIC2* leading test



SHN: If you check in with Sport Horse Nation this weekend, you'll notice that the site will only have one classifieds post per day on Saturday and Sunday.  This is just due to the fact that internet traffic is about 30% lower on the weekends because many people tend to be outside (at competitions) rather than sitting in front of a computer at work.  Although a Canadian team rider did email me after Bromont saying that her grooms were getting all the inside info from Bromont by visiting EN on their IPhones--while at Bromont.  Gotta love it.

--Update--Sidebar: I just added Facebook and Twitter to our Eventing Nation sidebar Saturday afternoon.  We added the same Facebook plugin to Sport Horse Nation last week, and after one week SHN has more fans than Eventing Nation, so I got jealous and added the plugin to EN.  Mostly, I think it's a fun way to showcase all of our awesome readers.  From time to time you'll see some pretty big name eventers show up in the Facebook box (I just saw Max)--as well as my goofy non-riding friends who just became fans of the site on Facebook because they want to support my endeavors.

Does anyone have any suggestions for next week's question of the week?  I'm drawing a blank, but, never fear, I'm sure something ridiculous will come to mind at 2am this morning.


Lastly, I want to brag in the nerdiest way possible about the tremendous work by our writers and readers here at Eventing Nation.  As you might know, Google evaluates keywords, daily traffic, age, links in, and a variety of other characteristics to rank sites in their search results.  High search results rankings are a source of bragging rights for websites, and I am very excited that Eventing Nation is now the 3rd ranked result for the Google keyword search for "eventing", right behind the USEA and Wikipedia's eventing page.  The results fluctuate from day to day, but hopefully we are secured in the top half of the first page.  Even Google recognizes that Eventing Nation is the source for everything eventing.  Go eventing.

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21

National helmet day

By John on July 9, 2010 3:27 PM, Filed Under
Saturday, July 10th, is the National Don't Step on a Bee Day, National "Clerihew" Day, National Hop-A-Park Day, and Independence Day in the Bahamas.  I only wish I was making those up, but, of course, there is a website (actually several) dedicated to keeping track of all the random national days.  

Of course, Saturday is also the first annual National Helmet Day.  Many retailers are generously offering helmet discounts on Saturday--click here.  Top hats and hunt caps will be twice their normal price.

For those of you who are wondering--and I know you are--a "Clerihew" is a short, biographical,
whimsical poem.  The lines are irregular in length, with a rhyming structure AABB.

Did Descartes 
Depart 
With the thought 
"Therefore I'm not"?
0

Event this weekend from TOTD

By John on July 3, 2010 12:20 PM, Filed Under
We only have one USEA event in the US this holiday weekend, and that honor goes to the South Farm horse trials in Ohio.  The weather is beautiful in Ohio this weekend with all sun and highs in the 80's.  South Farms is in Middlefield, Ohio, which is just east of Cleveland, in very northeastern Ohio.  We have friends at South Farm and we will keep everyone appraised of how things are going.  Good luck to all the competitors, and hopefully everyone will get home in time to watch some fireworks Sunday night.  

For everyone at home this weekend, Tack of the Day has two items for sale at over 45% off each.  One is a beautiful looking lycra sheet, and the other is a set of plastic jump cups.  Both are only available until Monday at noon.  Check both items out by clicking the link below.

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