We arrived in Tallahassee Thursday afternoon and I could not have been more jazzed for Red Hills International! This event was our third time at this level, now called a CCI3*-s, which is the same as the old CIC2*. Even though Rollo and I have successfully completed several FEI events, the thrill and anticipation has hardly worn off! My very own BT Just A Rebel, aka Rollo, or the pocket rocket was feeling extremely good leading up to this event. He felt on point for all his gallops, spent the week before in Venice where we won our first…

  Everyone who partakes in the sport of Eventing does so because they love it. Competing horses is hard work and a major commitment, but we put in the hours without complaint. We know what we need to do in order to be prepared for the shows, and the feeling of winning your division makes up for all the late nights spent out in the barn. We don’t take our horses or our own fitness and training for granted because we know exactly how much effort goes into getting to that point; however what most event riders do take for…

  There are dozens of common sayings that people use frequently, many of which even mention horses. However, some of these sayings are not suitable for use in the horse world. If you use one of these sayings when chatting with an equestrian you will confuse of maybe even offend them. So remember to keep these sayings out of the barn… Saying: “Straight from the horse’s mouth.” Equestrian’s reaction: Last I checked, horses don’t talk. Are you all right?   Saying: “Healthy as a horse” Equestrian’s reaction: Are you nuts? Have you seen my vet bills?     Saying: “Too…

  Eventing is an adrenaline rush for riders and fans. To grow the sport we all have a responsibility to spread the word about what a blast it is to attend a competition. The fact that the entire gamut of Eventing athletes from beginner to Olympian can be seen at almost any show makes it particularly impressive. If people outside the sport are aware of this dynamic and how easy it is to attend a show, they may be more likely to support it as either a spectator, owner, rider, sponsor, etc. People outside of the horse world do not…

  Sometimes, selling a horse is less about marketing the animal, and more about marketing yourself and your program. Recently, a gentleman scheduled a visit to try one of my horses for sale. As usual, I went through a lot of effort making the horse look its best; I pulled his mane, braided it over the night before, gave him a bath, and had him neat and shiny, ready to go at the arranged time of 9am. 9am came and went; I sent a message asking if the man was running late, or perhaps lost. I heard nothing back. At…

  Do rule changes change the way we ride? I’ve been intrigued by the work of Equiratings, a company that not only analyzes data in our sport but also sparks discussions about the future of eventing in general. Their work has gotten me thinking about how the rules of our sport—what I’ll call the “rules of the game” in this article—impact the way we ride. An obvious example would be speeds on cross country: if speeds increased, riders would try to go faster to catch the optimum time and minimize their time faults. Another one (which actually happened) is the…

  Ireland is a nation of young horse producers, and in order to showcase our top products, we have a series of young horse classes that provide us with an education system and a shop window. The Showjumping system is pretty good-by and large, once a horse is comfortable jumping around a track, the variables he will experience in his competitive life are not that extreme. The young event horses however, obviously have a lot more to cope with-especially if they are produced through the age classes. Whilst these contests are big business in Ireland-and vital if you are to…