Ex-Rolex Horse Needs Help

Subs competed back in the day for Rolex, placing 15th with Olivia Loiacono. He is now 20 years old and his insurance coverage does not cover all of the colic surgery he recently had to undergo. They are asking for assistance. To see more go here: http://thehorseaholic.com/help-needed-for-ex-kentucky-rolex-3-day-event-horse/

I am all for helping other rides. Horses are expensive and coming together as a horse community to help each other makes this whole horse thing possible.

Rolex is over...how you can keep the excitement alive!

You can still check out some of the video footage on the USEF Network and the United States Eventing Association.

So what do the eventer fans have to look forward to for big deal events? To check out a full calendar see USEA website. Here are the big ones:

• Jersey Fresh International Event, CIC3 May 8-11th (Tailgate is sold out, let the party begin!)
• Badminton Horse Trials May 7-11
• Virginia Horse Trials CIC2 through Advanced May 22-25 
• Alltech World Equestrian Games Eventing Aug 27-31 France!
• Burhley Horse Trials Sep 4-5

Does William Fox Pitt have a chance at the Grand Slam?! Guess we will have to see at Badminton next month!

Watch Rolex X-Country at 11am EST!

Watch online for FREE at USEF! 11am EST, 9am MST!

http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2014Rolex/

It's starting, the traffic jam into cross country courtesy of Horse Junkies United.

Last year's winner Quimbo going cross country at the 2013 Rolex

Rolex Kentucky Is Starting!

Today (April 24, 2014) Rolex starts with dressage! Very sad I am missing it this year, it was so much fun last year. My favorite Rolex experiences were the cross country, stadium jumping, vendors, and crowds.

Last  Year's Winner: Quimbo and Andrew Nicholson

Follow Rolex Kentucky:
Website
Results
Watch Live
Schedule
Three Day Shop (note; last year at the event they did run out of items and I was told that they are running a low inventory to save money so buy when you see!)
Twitter (best way to follow in my opinion)
Facebook
SmartPak is a major sponsor and will have some coverage/updates
Eventing Nation does an excellent job with breaking news on Rolex!
USEF Network Channel
Rolex Kentucky Youtube Channel

Most recent youtube video from Rolex: Wednesday dressage warm-up.

Photos From Colorado Horse Park Horse Trials

It sure was exciting watching the cross country at Colorado Horse Park the other weekend which included Region 9 USEA Championships. It is just as fun re-living the excitement with Christy Cumberworth's photos! Her photos really are excellent, she captures the ideal jump for each rider...we all know that takes talent. I don't know how many times I have taken a photo of the horse on stride out from the jump when I want a picture of the horse going over the jump.

View the photos here.

Related posts and show results.

Christy's website is easy to navigate and loads the photos fast. Search by horse's name or rider's number. Amanda Hund on Pilot feature below!

Fair Hill International

I had all these plans to cover Hanover Grand Prix and the Pennsylvania FEI World Cup Grand Prix, but I ran out of time! I only got to Fair Hill, so I am just going to have to post it now...

Fair Hill International.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of Fair Hill International CCI**/*** event in Elkton, Maryland which took place Oct 16th-20th, this past weekend.

I've always wanted to visit this event, the cross country looks stunning with the fall colors. The festival seems like a local hit with other events like car shows, dog shows, local food, and live music. Big names show up for the event, this year Phillip Dutton, Kim Seversen, and Buck Davidson made an appearance.

Looking over the results I was rather shocked at the amount of eliminations and withdraws from both the CCI Two and Three Star. It could have been the rain that caused many to withdraw or become eliminated. Cross country jump 13A, a double brush, did cause most of the eliminations. For the Three Star, out of 25 riders, only 15 went clear on cross country. There was a total of three falls.

First place for the Two Star was Sparrow Nio, a grey 15.3H Connemara cross who recently started doing Advance competitions back in September.

Inmidair (I love that name!) took first in the three star with rider Jan Byyny. Her first place win includes a free round trip to any international competition of her choice, valued at over $20,000.

@Jenni Autry

CCI Two Star
XC Optimum Time: 8:20
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	Final Score	Final Place
Allie Blyskal-Sacksen	Sparrow's Nio	47.80	8	0.00	8:00	0.00	47.80	2	0.00	0.00	47.80	1
Ryan Wood	Fernhill Classic	49.70	12-T	0.00	8:09	0.00	49.70	3-T	0.00	0.00	49.70	2
Colleen Loach	Freespirit-	49.70	12-T	0.00	8:07	0.00	49.70	3-T	0.00	0.00	49.70	3
Sharon White	Under Suspection	43.90	2	0.00	8:15	0.00	43.90	1	4.00	2.00	49.90	4
Danielle Dichting	The Graduate	47.20	7	0.00	8:27	2.80	50.00	5	0.00	0.00	50.00	5
Kurt A Martin	Anna Bella	49.40	10-T	0.00	8:22	0.80	50.20	6	0.00	0.00	50.20	6

CCI Three Star
XC Optimum Time: 10:03
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	Final Score	Final Place
Jan Byyny	Inmidair	45.60	5	0.00	10:08	2.00	47.60	1	4.00	0.00	51.60	1
Buck Davidson	Park Trader	45.80	6	0.00	10:20	6.80	52.60	5	0.00	0.00	52.60	2
William Coleman III	Conair	50.20	12	0.00	9:53	0.00	50.20	2	4.00	0.00	54.20	3
Doug Payne	Crown Talisman	43.60	2	0.00	10:20	6.80	50.40	3	4.00	0.00	54.40	4
Kim Severson	Fernhill Fearless	52.20	17	0.00	9:47	0.00	52.20	4	4.00	0.00	56.20	5
Ellen Doughty	Sir Oberon	53.60	21	0.00	9:58	0.00	53.60	6	4.00	0.00	57.60	6

Riding on hard ground

Living in Colorado there is some hard ground around here and that hard ground may lead to horse injury. My barn does not have an arena, so riding in the fields is mainly what I do. Here are some tips to keep your horse's legs going strong.

Check if your riding surface is really as hard as you think. Can you hear hoof beats? Maybe sometimes you are able to hear them and then other days you hear nothing. That should be a good indication on the ground surface condition at the time of your ride.

If you have field options, choose a field that has irrigation. The ground may be more soft and easier on the horse's legs. I have 5 pastures and I only ride in the 2 pastures that were at one point used for haying.

Tall grass isn't always a bad thing. May be hard to see hazards, so check it out first on foot. Once you go around a few times, the grass lays down, adding a little extra cushion.

Change pace and terrain as much as you can. On the hard ground it's important to shift weight to avoid overworking muscles, ligaments, tendons, or bones. This may be achieved by changing pace frequently or changing terrain. For example, two trot circles followed by a trot up a hill and then a trot down the hill.

Try Magic Cushion, it's a hoof pack that is easy to apply. Acts as an anti-inflammatory to help prevent hoof pain and heat.

If the ground is frozen consider just walking with short bursts of trot or consider riding down a quiet dirt road. The traffic of cars keeps the road somewhat warm and the ground will likely be less frozen.

Condition your horse to hard ground by slowly introducing the horse to the terrain, adding a little more time or a little more intensity each ride.

Shoe the front feet to get the soles off the ground and add more comfort. If you already have shoes, consider asking your farrier to review the shoeing.

Consider pads or rim pads if you horse appears foot sore after a ride.

Warm up properly, with lots of walking on a free rein, collected, extended walk, before going right into trotting. In the arena we do a lot of trot warmup, but on hard ground you should do more walk warmup.

Listen to your horse. If they move lame or sore after your ride try something different. If you have tried everything, it is likely that the horse just is not built for hard ground riding or needs a few down days.

Turn your horse out on that pasture. This naturally conditions horses to the ground at their own pace, which is typically the best way.

Add water. Perhaps there is a small 20 meter circle flat area in your field you ride often, hose this area before your ride.

Stick to small jumps and ground poles. Instead of raising the jumps, consider making the exercise more complicated. Save your horses legs by not overdoing it, once he performs the jump as desired tell him good job and move on to something different.

Consider wearing sport medicine boots. Honestly, I think these boots are more important for arena riding because they provide tendon and soft tissue support which may be needed when the horse sinks into soft ground. However, I see how these boots could benefit field riding because of this support, especially if the horse trips. Professional Choice boots claim is that it absorbs 26% of the impact from the hoof and as much as 45%. The testing was performed at Oklahoma University. I have successfully used sport medicine boots after my horse's torn suspensory (an injury result from sinking in deep sand footing when landing from a jump), it seemed to help with recovery.

Consider cold hosing or wrapping after a really hard workout. This may help in recovery. Just like people who train for triathlons or running whom religiously do hot/cold treatments and compression socks. There is actually compression socks for horses!

Another human athlete practice is stretching and application of pain relief ointments for example using icy hot on humans (don't use on horses). A similar practice may be performed before/after on your equine athlete. Vetrolin is similar to the human version of icy hot. Post workout stretching is the key to any athlete and I am surprised not more horse owners stretch their equine friends. Here is an extensive list of stretching techniques.

 

 

Ask your horse to move round. Don't let him invert and load his front legs with shock. Again, just like human runners, you want to practice good form to prevent injury.

Horses are different, my older gelding likes the stability of the hard ground. He has arthritis, a coffin bone chip, and an old deep flexor tear all that happened in his earlier life of being an arena horse. Since he has been out on hard ground he has not had one lameness issue and goes great. He doesn't have any major structural abnormalities though, where my other horse does. The younger horse has a  club foot and sometimes working him on the hard ground intensifies the short stride of the club foot. The intensity of riding on the hard ground really depends on the horse's body and it's condition overall. Young horses should be especially careful as their bone structures are still developing.

I think arenas are great, but I do think they may be overrated at times. The best asset of an arena is not having rocks or uneven terrain. Many people create an arena that is too deep, which may cause lameness due to stress on ligaments and tendons. The horses that need to be most careful on hard terrain would be those that are use to living and being worked on soft ground. Horses that are conditioned for the hard ground usually do okay. I believe to some level horse's were built for riding in a grassy field, it is their natural environment. We have conditioned them to ride in arenas, but we are also doing more then what they are built to do, like jumping. Bottom line is listen to your horse, support him the best you can, and be reasonable about the workload on hard ground.

Paget, say it ain't so! Clifton Promise tested positive for illegal substances?!

Depressing news I found this morning, that Clifton Promise, a three-day horse ridden by Jock Paget, has tested positive for a strong tranquilizer called Reserpine.

I was cheering for these two to win the Rolex Grand Slam this year, after their back to back wins at Burghley horse trials and Badminton horse trials. Clifton Promise will be banned for 2 months from competition pending the "B" sample. FEI will take the "B" sample for assurance on their decision, if this tests positive as well it is likely they will be suspended. Read more here.

To read more about their previous wins that they may have just blown (sad face) check out my previous September post.

Paget and Clifton Promise Burghley Horse Trials Show Jumping 2013

 

"I am going to need some of that coffee if you are doing to be sedating me." Pretty sure Clifton Promise said that.

Paget and Clifton Promise

 

Dubarry of Ireland

If you have been to Rolex you probably have seen that guy standing in a pool of water to prove a point- that Dubarry of Ireland makes the best boots for country wear. Their country boots really are waterproof by the way and a huge hit in eventing. I was blinding on the cross country course by so many Dubarry boots! It seems like anything labeled Ireland makes an appearance in a 3-day event somewhere (Horseware seems popular too).

Typically known for their boots, but don't worry Dubarry makes much more. All of their clothing has that traditional Ireland countryside appeal. I am a huge fan of the tweed...

And of course all the boots, as well as sailing shoes!

They also have a few leather goodies.

All items may be purchased on the Dubarry site located here. There is a pricey tag on their items, but the quality is good. The cheapest item above is $99, most of the boots are in the $400s.

A Successful Weekend At The Colorado Horse Park

Early Sunday morning a friend and I heading down to the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, CO to watch our friends ride cross country in the Colorado Horse Park Fall Horse Trials which also include Region 9 USEA Championships!

A friend on her beautiful horse went Intermediate, her horse's first time. The horse had two refusals caused by a confusing flag incident in a combination, but finished strong in the cross country. Personally, I thought it was a perfect and successful ride for the horse's first Intermediate! My vet took second in Open Training with a clean and flawless cross country. The most exciting ride for me to watch was my friend, Angelika ride a clean cross country on her new horse! Her horse is the cutest (want to steal it) little 15.3H Swedish warmblood who was all knees jumping. She took first place in the Region 9 Training Championships! The second best thing to horse showing yourself is watching friends successfully horse show instead. I am really happy for all of them.

Angelika Beutel taking first in Region 9 Training Championships

@Angelika Beutel

 

I would not consider myself really into eventing compared to other things like show jumping, but it is so easy to be involved in eventing compared to other equestrian disciplines. The scoring system is easy to follow, it's kind of like a football game...you know who is in the lead but there is still that unpredictability of the last quarter or in eventing the last discipline as to who is going to win. The online, live scoring is so fun to keep track of on Event Entries.



CHP Event Results Posted on Evententries.com on Oct 13, 2013

Intermediate Championships
XC Optimum Time: 6:21
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	Final Score	Final Place
Kathy Cain	Legal Limit	29.60	1	4.00	0.00	33.60	1	0.00	6:18	0.00	33.60	1
Hailey Rich	Kingfisher II	38.40	3	12.00	5.00	55.40	3	20.00	6:36	6.00	81.40	2
Martha McDowell	Nabouco de Lessay	30.00	2	4.00	0.00	34.00	2	80.00	0:00	R	R	R

Open Intermediate
XC Optimum Time: 6:21
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	Final Score	Final Place
Amanda Hund	Pik Pilot	34.80	1	4.00	3.00	41.80	1	40.00	10:27	98.40	180.20	1

Open Preliminary
XC Optimum Time: 5:32
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	Final Score	Final Place
Madeline Backus	P.S. Arianna	34.40	2	8.00	6.00	48.40	2	0.00	5:30	0.00	48.40	1
Hailey Patno	Syncotina	46.10	3	8.00	10.00	64.10	3	20.00	6:10	15.20	99.30	2
Christina Henriksen	Jos Calfun	30.90	1	8.00	1.00	39.90	1	60.00	0:00	E	E	E

Preliminary Championships
XC Optimum Time: 5:32
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	Final Score	Final Place
Rochelle Costanza	Lionhart	31.70	1	4.00	2.00	37.70	1	0.00	5:20	0.00	37.70	1
Summer Peterson	Tim	35.20	2-T	4.00	3.00	42.20	3	0.00	5:29	0.00	42.20	2
Wendy Webb	T.H. Royal Flush	35.20	2-T	4.00	0.00	39.20	2	0.00	5:47	6.00	45.20	3
Amy Gilbertson	One Honest Man	43.90	5	4.00	11.00	58.90	5	40.00	6:18	18.40	117.30	4
Darlene McInnes	Warlord	40.00	4	8.00	3.00	51.00	4	0.00	0:00	W	W	W

Open Training
XC Optimum Time: 6:01
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	Final Score	Final Place
Reed Ayers	De Rien	32.70	5	0.00	0.00	32.70	2	0.00	5:44	0.00	32.70	1
Nancy Carr	Wedgewood	24.10	1	8.00	2.00	34.10	3	0.00	5:56	0.00	34.10	2
Dorothy Hamilton	Cabrio	36.40	6-T	0.00	1.00	37.40	4	0.00	5:38	0.00	37.40	3
Nicole S Ackerman	Scarlett	29.60	4	8.00	0.00	37.60	5	0.00	5:10	0.00	37.60	4
Ashley Demander	BeBe LaRue	28.60	3	12.00	3.00	43.60	8	0.00	5:03	0.00	43.60	5
Nicole S Ackerman	Ringfort Fighting Chance	26.80	2	0.00	0.00	26.80	1	20.00	6:00	0.00	46.80	6
Alessandra Allen-Shinn	Zip Wyatt	36.80	8	4.00	0.00	40.80	7	20.00	5:28	0.00	60.80	7
Melissa Thorson	Master Plan	36.40	6-T	0.00	3.00	39.40	6	20.00	6:24	9.20	68.60	8

Training Championships
XC Optimum Time: 6:01
Rider	Horse	Dress Score	Dress Place	Stad Jump	Stad Time	To Date Score	To Date Place	XC Jump	XC Elapsed	XC Time	Final Score	Final Place
Angelika Beutel	Varekai	23.20	1	4.00	0.00	27.20	1	0.00	5:40	0.00	27.20	1
Madeline Backus	P.S. King of Hearts	29.60	3	0.00	0.00	29.60	2	0.00	5:39	0.00	29.60	2
Todd Smyrl	Gemini Tiara	36.80	5-T	4.00	0.00	40.80	3	0.00	5:27	0.00	40.80	3
Christina Henriksen	Princess Pavan	37.70	7	4.00	0.00	41.70	4	0.00	5:50	0.00	41.70	4
Heather Haubrich	Jasmine	36.80	5-T	8.00	0.00	44.80	5	0.00	5:45	0.00	44.80	5
Cynthia Moore-West	Zalig	45.00	14	0.00	0.00	45.00	6	0.00	5:20	0.00	45.00	6
Grace Simpson	Rapport	29.10	2	16.00	1.00	46.10	7	0.00	5:37	0.00	46.10	7
Tracey Dalton	Burgundy	38.20	8	8.00	0.00	46.20	8	0.00	5:43	0.00	46.20	8
Kimberly Hamilton-Wendel	Cool Cutie	44.60	13	4.00	0.00	48.60	9	0.00	5:26	0.00	48.60	9
Lorraine Barrows	Space Cowboy	45.90	15	4.00	0.00	49.90	10	0.00	5:35	0.00	49.90	10
Noelani Bevill	Weekend Edition	42.70	10	8.00	0.00	50.70	11	0.00	5:54	0.00	50.70	11
Kari Hall	Rigel	43.20	11-T	8.00	0.00	51.20	12	0.00	6:06	2.00	53.20	12
Summer Peterson	Jake the Fish	43.20	11-T	12.00	0.00	55.20	13	0.00	5:08	0.00	55.20	13
Nicole Musmanno	JHN Imogen	35.50	4	20.00	0.00	55.50	14	0.00	5:39	0.00	55.50	14
Eileen Galoostian	Ratifier	46.40	16	20.00	0.00	66.40	15	0.00	5:19	0.00	66.40	15
Anne Ladd	Proper Gent	41.40	9	12.00	40.00	93.40	16	60.00	0:00	E	E	E
Tashi Brundige	Ringo Star	E	E	0.00	E	E	E	0.00	0:00	E	E	E

Paget's Now Has An Official Chance to Win Rolex Grand Slam!

Johnathan Paget won the Burghley title this weekend on his horse Clifton Promise.  He is now aimed to win the Rolex Grand Slam, a $350,000 prize for consecutive wins at Badminton, Burghley, and Kentucky Rolex competitions.

He has 2 wins under his belt...will he be able to win Rolex Kentucky this spring and seal the deal? He probably has an excellent chance!

Paget wins from this weekend on Clifton Promise at Burghley

Photos from www.burghley-horse.co.uk

Read his rider's blog from the event here.

Paget wins Badminton 2013 on Clifton Promise.  Show Jumping video.

Paget wins Badminton 2013 on Clifton Promise.  Dressage video.

Learn more about Clifton Promise by checking out his bio and stats

Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials This Weekend!

Burghley Horse Trial is an International 4-star event held in the UK.  To find more visit http://www.burghley-horse.co.uk

Cross Country rounds can be watched here starting 07 Sep Saturday at 1:30p

Check out the cross country preview video here.

Rider's blogs, profiles, and event updates here on Rider's Blog

Twitter, podcasts, and facebook updates also available

Dressage results from yesterday, Friday. Johnathan Paget on Clifton Lush has the leading dressage score.  Check out photos here.

One of the cross country jumps, holy crap!

Happy Mouth Hackamore Bit

A few weeks ago a group of us girls went to the Estes Park Grand Prix and one girl asked about a bit one of the prix horses came trotting out in...it was the Happy Mouth Hackamore Bit.  I should know because it made my now retired horse a superstar!

What is it?  A hackamore and bit in one.  Some people say it may be too much, but it really is not. What is so great about it is it cradles the horse's head and applies even pressure on nasal bone and mouth. The action of the bit stops the hackamore from being overused and the use of the hackamore stops the bit from being overused- it's just even pressure all the way around.

This combo bit places pressure on the mouth, poll, and nasal bone.  It comes with a leather chin strap, but you can use a curb chain if you need more power.  Whichever chin strap you choose make sure you keep one on this bit to help the bit stay in position.

I have seen riders use two reins and sometimes just one attached to the curb piece (bottom hoop). I would strongly recommend using two reins, that way you have the option to "back off" and just use the top/snaffle rein, but ultimately is up to you. Using the curb rein will enhance the action of the bit on the bars of the mouth therefore increasing the pressure.  Just using the snaffle/top rein will apply more of the hackamore and just a little on the bars of the mouth.  Obviously, using more of the curb rein should only be applied when more leverage is necessary.

Use of the bit with a bit converter and running martingale

This bit is great for cross country, jumpers, show jumping, etc.  The bit is stable in the mouth, so the rider doesn't have to worry about going along at fast speeds or turning sharply.  The application of poll, nasal, and bit pressure is great for horse's that tend to invert, get strong, or stiff.  This bit could be used with a running martingale as well.

The bit goes for $90, buy here.

Mandy Porter winning the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix on Con Capilot with the Happy Mouth Hackamore! Jan 2013.

@Piper Klemm

How did I choose this bit?  It's a very long story but Paddy has neurological issues, which weren't diagnosed until later after a few years of owning him.  One of these being a chronic headshaker due to trigeminal neuralogia (people can have it too).  Certain things like barometric pressure changes, rain or snow on his face, and pollen up his nose cause a violent twitch response leading to rearing, headshaking, inverting, taking off, stopping to itch his face (like mid canter or between a fence line), etc.  It physically causes pain in his face due to misfiring of nerves.  It can get better as they get older or worse, some horses have to be permanently retired even put to sleep due to the problem.  There is a procedure to cut the nerve and lessen the pain, but at Paddy's point the surgery would probably do no good.  I found that the hackamore piece relieved some of that pain and itchiness.  It was like someone constantly itching his face and provided relief.  I also moved barns and placed him out in pasture 24/7. This has improved it so much.  Some say an allergy to a local weed can trigger an attack, the barn I was at had a severe mold problem.  I found myself constantly sick in the indoor riding arena, so I can only imagine how he felt.  On a side note, if your horse has this problem I would strongly suggest changing the living arrangement ASAP.

19 years old and still loving the bit, Paddy and I hacking in the field

Richland Park Last Weekend Highlights

Check out Richland Park's Event Highlights on Vimeo.  A great video of the weekend's action. A horse event in Richland, Michigan offering Novice through Advance, CIC2*, CIC3*

Watch Vimeo

Check out their facebook page (it has a lot of great photos)

Defining Eventing Show Sucess

A quote from facebook, Tamarack Farm.  I thought it was interesting and true reflection on some 3-day events.