Eventing Guest Writers: January 2010 Archives

Hannah Burnett Spring Blog: Chapter 1

By John on January 30, 2010 6:39 PM, Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers

Our week long introduction of our spring guest writers continues with Hannah Burnett's first entry. Hannah competed at Rolex in '07 on Keep the Faith, and recently won the 2009 CCI** at Fair Hill on St. Barths. Hannah was kind enough to join us for a live blog just after that victory, and we look forward to Hannah telling us all about her spring. Now, if I can only get Lauren and Hannah to stop including me in their posts...Go eventing.

From Hannah:

Hey Eventing Nation--it's Hannah Burnett again and I'm so excited to keep you up to date with my spring competitions and training! After Fair Hill last year I got the opportunity to chat with some of you on Eventing Nation's Live Blog and a lot of questions were asked about my plans for the future with St. Barths (Nike) and I'm thrilled to keep you filled in as the season progresses.

    Nike and I had a great year last year with a win at the Stuart CIC** and then finishing off the season with a bang with a win at Fair Hill International CCI**. I started riding Nike for Richard Thompson in the fall of 2008 for my boss and coach Karen O'Connor while she was at the Olympics. We got along so well that when she got back from Hong Kong, she and Mr. Thompson decided to let me keep the ride. Nike has really blown everyone's expectations out of the water and continues to impress people especially because of his past medical history. Nike had EPM severely in 2007 and no one thought he would ever make it back to being at the top level and not to mention with so much success.
    I'll fill you in a bit about myself: I am from Shelbyville, KY and I'm 23 years old. I grew up riding under the instruction of my mom, whom I call Smallzie (cause she's so little) and have always had a very supportive family. I have been working with Karen and David O'Connor for a total of around 5 years. I was a working student off and on with Lauren Kieffer for about 3 years when I was competing my horse, Keep the Faith, that took me to Rolex KY in 2007. After I spent a year in at home in KY working off all my bills from getting to Rolex, I went back to work full time for the O'Connors and have been riding and working for them for 2 years now. Lauren and I are roommates and have a lot of fun driving everyone else on the farm nuts! We keep ourselves entertained by poking fun at anyone who gives us the opportunity. That includes John, who is writing posts for this website in our house right now!!
    Right, back to business!! Nike and I are planning on running in the Intermediate division at the Florida Horse Park Feb. 13-14 and then we'll be doing Nike's Advanced debut at Pine Top later in the month. Until then, stay warm and keep checking out the coolest site in Eventing :)

Lauren Kieffer and Snooze Alarm PTR: Chapter 1

By John on January 29, 2010 1:03 PM, Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers,

Lauren Kieffer

Our Path to Rolex series continues with a good friend of mine, Lauren Kieffer. I met Lauren and Snooze when riding on the first of our two Young Rider teams together, and since then she has developed into a fantastic rider under the tutelage of David and Karen at OCET. Lauren's OCET teammate, Hannah Burnett, will also be writing about her spring for us (check back soon), and both Lauren and Hannah are two of America's rising stars. Thank you for reading.

From Lauren:

Hello Eventing Nation! I'm really excited to have been invited to keep you all up to date over the next several months as I make my first attempt at Rolex Kentucky CCI****. If I were you I wouldn't always believe all the nice things John says about Hannah and I, he's just trying to keep on our good side since we are letting him sleep on our couch, but I'll try not to disappoint all of you.

I'll start by just telling you all a little bit about my horse Snooze Alarm and what we have been up to so far. I've had Snooze AKA The Maggot for 9 years now, and just as a side note I would not recommend for anyone to buy a four year old, barely broke, redheaded, Arabian as their 13 year old kids first event horse, of course my parents can't be blamed because I did bust out the tears and a "but, but Daddy, I LOVE him!" when I got told no. We had a great time until I tried to move up to Intermediate and broke my back when I was 17 and once I recovered from that and my parents realized I was too ignorant to be scared they shipped me off to Karen and David's, which is where Snooze and I have been ever since. We've done a lot together including three NAJYRC's (Go Area VIII!), we've been named to the Developing Rider's List twice, the B-List, and have spent the last two years doing advanced horse trials, CIC***'s, and a CCI***. I have a lot to thank him for.

He had a nice vacation this winter and is rarin' to go. He's been going for long trots and flatting and had his first jump and canter last week. His work load will start getting upped over the next couple weeks and the plan right now is to do an Intermediate at the Florida Horse Park Winter II and then we'll head up to Pine Top to freeze our tails off and do the Advanced.

Holly Hudspeth Path to Rolex, Chapter 1

By John on January 27, 2010 12:44 PM, Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers,

Holly Hudspeth

It is with great pleasure that I introduce Holly Hudspeth, formerly Holly Hepp, in her first of many entries to come as she writes for Eventing Nation about her path to Rolex aboard Last Monarch. Holly has competed at Rolex multiple times and earned her red coat by finishing 9th at the Pan Ams in 2003. Holly is based out of North Carolina, and recently placed 15th at the Fair Hill CCI*** on the fantastic Last Monarch.

Holly is a well know coach, having trained the Area VIII Young Riders for several years. Check out Holly's website for information on training opportunities. Click here for 'Aiming High the Smart Way,' and article that Holly wrote for EN last year. Now, please enjoy Holly's post, and check back soon for more.

From Holly:

We all know alcohol affects our judgement. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. In this case it was for the good. The case I am referring to is how it came for my ownership of Last Monarch. It all began at a party at Lefreda Williams' in spring 2006, that my good friend Jane Murray and I were at. After a few glasses of wine she told me she had a cute, athletic spitfire that she wanted to get rid of because he was not for her. "Of course I will come ride him" I told her, as Jane always has nice horses. Not remembering much of the conversation, she called me two days later and we made a plan for me to come out. And she was right. He was cute, but wild and obnoxious, and I loved him. Days later I told her I would like to buy him, and lucky for me she let me put "Stewie" on a monthly payment plan which lasted 5 months. How great was that? I did, however, tell her that if he did not go above preliminary I would return him. Jane informed me that Last Monarch came with a "NO RETURN" policy. Fair enough.

Fast forward to the present were Stewie and I are getting ready for Rolex 2010. Let me start by thanking a few people and sponsors who have helped me greatly in our Rolex pursuit. First off my husband Chuck, who is now the proud 1/2 owner of Stewie. Never a "horse person" before, he has seen enough and informs me when I go too slow on the xc or when my dressage score kept me from winning. Thanks honey, I needed that. Chuck is, of course, my rock when things go wrong or I am stressed out. His hug at the finish of xc makes my day. Ashley Kriegal, Kate Fitzgerald, and Kaylie O'Neil are at the barn with me on a daily basis, and I am fortunate to their help. I am sorry though for the bite marks Stewie leaves on them. I warn everyone when they come to the barn about his biting problem, but Stewie still manages to strike. (He is not quite right in the melon) Each one brings something great to my program, and they are excited as me for Rolex to come!

Sponsors Prime Performance Nutrition and David Stackhouse have been with me for a few years now, and I appreciate EVERYTHING they have done. My saddles are amazing, and PPN has anything I need for the maintance and nutrition of my horses. Farrier Jeff Denson, Hassinger Equine, Southern Pines Equine, and Flat River Equine have all been influential and I appreciate them!

As for now, Stewie and I have done two schooling shows at one of my favorite venues, Carolina Horse Park. In February we are headed to both Pine Tops, one OI and the other A. Of course I would NEVER miss SPHT I and II in March, then it is on to the Fork in April. Be in touch soon!

Holly and Stewie (aka Screwball)

EN Goes International

By John on January 26, 2010 12:08 AM, Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers

We want Eventing Nation to be a home for readers and content from across the entire eventing world. So when I heard that a Canadian eventing friend of mine, Lindsay Pearce, was traveling to England to ride for a while, I thought we might get the best of both worlds in one guest writer. Lindsay is a tremendous personality, and if her stories are half as entertaining online as they are in person, we are in for a lot of fun. Thanks Lindsay, and thank you for reading. Go eventing.

By Lindsay Pearce:

As an eventer I have always wanted to spend some time in England where horses and horse sport are such an integral part of life. So when I sold my Two-Star horse, Tangle Top, in August I thought now would be as good a time as ever. Jumping right in, I made a few calls to England and sent a few emails, and found a job working for Lucy Wiegersma in Devon. As a Canadian, obtaining a visa to work in the UK is relatively easy, only taking a few weeks. So I would be ready to start working early in the New Year.

That was the easy part! Figuring out how to get myself, my new horse shipping from Ireland, and enough stuff to be able to ride and compete said horse to my destination was not so easy. I looked into shipping things ahead of time, but it looked like taking everything with me on the plane was going to be the best and cheapest option.

My travel plan was to take the nearly 8 hour flight from Detroit, Michigan to London Heathrow, England. From there I had to take a quick underground shuttle, to then catch the 45 minute bus ride to Reading, to finally catch the 2 hour train ride to Exeter. From there I would be picked up and driven the 45 minute trip to Warren Farm. Needless to say, a long trip with many transfers! The greatest amount of luggage I thought I could manage was 4 large suitcases. That may seem like a lot of baggage, but when you have to pack 2 saddles, 3 helmets, bridles, boots, bits, etc. it isn't all that much.

Finally, the packing was done and on January 10 and I was off to the airport! Too bad for me that they weigh all the bags before they go on the plane. Two of them were considered heavy and I would be charged $150 extra for each one. Then one was so heavy they wouldn't even allow it on the plane. Hey - how can it be too heavy if I managed to carry it to the counter? Anyway, I'm sure it was amusing to those in line behind me as I went through things- throwing out a bit here, pair of jeans there, and anything else I thought I could live without to send back home with my parents. Eventually I got it down to weight, and I was ready to start my trip to England.

Flying was easy - the Captain didn't disturb me the entire trip looking for help. Navigating four large bags around an airport/bus station/train station however, is definitely something I don't want to try again. But with the help of a few nice people, and only one minor incident of my bags running away with me on a downhill moving sidewalk(loose horse! I mean, loose bags come back!), I made it to Warren Farm! After all of that they certainly won't be getting rid of me anytime soon.

Apparently they were expecting someone with blonde hair that sounded like Forest Gump. Clearly that is what all Canadians are like? I'm not sure I will be able to live up to such high standards, but I'm taking the fact that I already have a new highly original name, "Canada", as a good sign. Even though John misses me terribly, with 58 event horses on the farm, I think I will be sticking around England for a while.

EN Says Thanks to Volunteers

By John on January 7, 2010 11:16 AM, Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers

Here is Leslie Threlkeld's latest post for Eventing Nation. In it, Leslie writes about volunteers and delivers a message that cannot possibly be said enough to voulunteers in our sport: thank you, eventing would not exist without your help. As I expected and hoped, Leslie and Visionaire have already produced some incredible original content, and have really outperformed me since their arrival to the site, in terms of producing strong and intelligent posts. I am calling myself out right here, right now, to step my game up to match the new bar of quality that they have set here at EN. It is both scary and exciting to see where a team of highly dedicated, competitive, and motivated people will take Eventing Nation. Now, from Leslie:

EN Says Thanks to Volunteers

Leslie Threlkeld

(Area III Young Riders volunteer at Poplar Place Farm in Hamilton, GA picking up rocks (thats right, rocks) before the new dressage rings are built. 13-year-old yours truly is sitting second from the right.)

3-Day Events, Horse Trials, and schooling shows would never happen without the hard-working dressage stewards, jump judges, score runners and pole picker-uppers. While we might not always remember to say thank you as we fly by on course, I speak for the whole of Eventing Nation when I say THANK YOU. We really do appreciate the long hours our volunteers put in at competitions. Recent changes to the sport also require volunteers to carry more responsibility in terms of decision-making and controlling spectators. Here are a few tips and links that our beloved volunteers may find useful in the collective effort to improve the quality of our great sport.

Forget Me Not

Competition organizers deeply appreciate the volunteers who make the show possible and make an effort to provide what they can for them including breakfast, lunch, and maybe a coupon. Some things they will not provide, so remember to pack a few things.

A foldable chair: Some venues allow you to take your car on course, depending on the weather and footing conditions, but some prefer not to risk damage to the course. Mum uses an Ariat chair I acquired at the AEC one year; she calls it her $10,000 chair.
Sunscreen: I left Foxhall one year with very badly burned legs, and then got sent home from school the next day because the shorts I wore were "too short." Moral? Bring sunscreen or you'll get to stay home from school.
A book: There can be significant downtime between levels while judges reposition. Reading material is fine, but an iPod may cause you to miss important information over the radio.
Water and snacks: Many venues provide these sporadically throughout the day. Bring some of your own just in case.
Trash bag: Because you don't want to be a litterbug
Toilet Paper: Breaks and bathrooms can be few and far between on course. You get it...
A Watch: You may need to time any odd occurrences like holds on course
Foul-weather gear: The weatherman never gets it right on horse show weekends. Be prepared for changes in temperatures or sudden rainstorms. And remember to dress in layers!
Muck boots or Wellies: Helpful for wet weather or assisting soaked riders out of the water jump
Cell Phone on Vibrate: Don't be that guy who's cell phone goes off mid approach to a maxed-out combination.
Bug Spray: It only takes one bad day in the bushes, and you'll never forget bug spray again.

Geometry is my least favorite subject

You think dressage is boring now? What might you think after watching 50 or 60 Training Test A's or Beginner Novice B's. Scribing a dressage test is one of the most educational experiences a volunteer can have. It's like getting 100 free audits with a top dressage rider. Just think, someone in the barn will be cursing your chicken scratch shouting, "Lacks suppleness? What does that even mean?!" Help us all out; brush up on your shorthand and get to know the newest dressage tests. Scribing Abbreviations and 2010 Dressage Tests

How to get the "good jumps"

My mother is an avid volunteer, and sometimes I'll sit on course with her for part of the day, the inevitable question being, "Did we get a good jump?" Mum almost always gets a good jump, but that's because she's been doing this a while. Unless paired with another experienced volunteer, freshman volunteers will likely (and ought to be) positioned at a straight-forward, uncomplicated fence with height. Do a good job and keep coming back, and you might just be sitting at the Big Water Jump pretty soon!

Leave your frightening hats and neon umbrellas at home, please

What is it with volunteers and looking scary? If almost every horse gives you the googly eye and then takes a bad jump, maybe you should re-asses your wardrobe and position in the field. Judges should be inconspicuous and quiet for optimal safety and good decision making. That's right, I'm holding you accountable for unnecessary spookage. Fort Rucker volunteers are well hidden in the trees because the boys suckered into judging are all wearing camouflage. It's hard not to look for that eye candy while you're on course.

Using good judgement

Cross-country judges are no longer simply responsible for reciting "horse 23 clear jump 4" into the radio. There are more things to mind than that. Dangerous riding is awarded spectator criticism and 25 penalty points in the "DR" section of a score sheet. The definition of dangerous riding may vary depending on who you ask. Sometimes using a whip is necessary for a safe ride, but there is a fine line between appropriate whip use and abuse. Technical Eliminations are also common occurrences, so take good notes in case the rider has questions later. Refusals aren't always black and white. Watch to see if the horse steps back, even with one foot, and be mindful of whether the horse maintains forward movement. Just stay focused and stop texting--you'll be fine.

Review the Eventing Rulebook for clarification on penalties and rules, particularly sections EV-3 Rules for Horse Trials, EV-111 Abuse, and EV-112 Dangerous Riding.

Some rules are easy to follow, like whip and spur length. EV-114 Dress describes all current regulations on competitor attire.

**current whip/spur length restrictions....one whip no longer than 110 cm (43.3 in) including lash on the flat; whip may not exceed 75 cm (30 in) in length for jumping tests...spurs with shank must not be longer than 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in)

Injuries and fatalities on course

Accidents happen, and it is important to know how to handle difficult situations. The Horse Trials Crisis Plan outlines how to handle unfortunate incidents on course. Your actions may help show officials react and control the situation in the best way possible. The most important thing you, as a volunteer, can do is hold on to your walkie-talkie. In the scramble to see if a fallen horse and rider are OK, some people shout something about a fall over the radio and then leave it in the chair while they run over to assist the competitor. Tell the office the number of the fallen rider, the fence number, and whether or not they need medical attention.

Putting on the parental hat

Mum used to say, "It's not a matter of if you will fall, but when." Often times, spry young eventers pop right up, eager to continue. Unfortunately, a single fall is now cause for elimination, so the decision whether or not to continue on course is moot. We should hold ourselves and others accountable, however, to possible injuries.

My horse ran off in the dressage warm-up once, and to avoid a collision in the congested arena, I pulled him out at the gate. He zigged, I zagged, and I wound up whacking my head on the hard Georgia clay. I rode my test with a torn jacket, clay-stained helmet and screaming bruised hips. While removing my horse's braids later, I suddenly felt lost. Meandering over to the ambulance, the paramedic recognized me and asked, "How are you?" "A little confused," I said. I know we all think we are indestructible English cowboys, but it's important to not underestimate our falls. This Concussion Brochure is useful for riders, show officials, and volunteers. Watch out for one another, K?

What's in it for you?

A valuable learning opportunity and the chance to support the continuation of your favorite sport, that's what! And sometimes a coupon for merchandise or a cross-country schooling session. Woohoo!

Again, I say thanks to the horse enthusiasts, riders, and family members who spend long hours watching horse after horse go by. I hope you take full advantage of the educational experience volunteering provides, and don't ever be afraid to ask questions. As for the competitors, treat the volunteers with respect. Sometimes we get caught up in the moment when things go wrong, or right, and we forget our manners. Without the volunteers...well...we would be without events.

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Eventing Guest Writers: January 2010 Archives

Hannah Burnett Spring Blog: Chapter 1

Lauren Kieffer and Snooze Alarm PTR: Chapter 1

Holly Hudspeth Path to Rolex, Chapter 1

EN Goes International

EN Says Thanks to Volunteers

Need anything for the barn?

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Eventing Guest Writers: January 2010 Archives

Hannah Burnett Spring Blog: Chapter 1

Lauren Kieffer and Snooze Alarm PTR: Chapter 1

Holly Hudspeth Path to Rolex, Chapter 1

EN Goes International

EN Says Thanks to Volunteers

Need anything for the barn?

Photo of the day

Eventing Nation

Omega Alpha

EVENTING NATION

Event Horses for sale

Dubarry

News Tips

Tipperary

Cause of the Month

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