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Saturday, December 26 2020 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

Eventing with Boyd Martin

Given the ups and downs of 2020, how are you planning your 2021 competition season?

I’ve been lucky enough to be a professional event rider for the past 25 years of my life. At the beginning of each season, I have a wonderful game plan for each horse: which events I’m going to run and which sequence of events will bring me to my ultimate goal.

Usually I plan this out for each horse in six-month blocks. To be quite honest, in the past 20 years it’s been very unusual to have any horse’s path go as planned. Sometimes a horse is injured, events are canceled, footing isn’t ideal or fitness work or training sessions have conflicted with the game plan. Sadly, I’ve also been injured and unable to train the horses how I want to. 

I think to be successful, you need the ability to be adaptable: have the ability to change your game plan, roll with the punches, all while trying to head toward that original goal. 

In hindsight, 2020 has been a year like none other. For me personally, at the beginning of the year I had dreams of Kentucky, Badminton, the Olympic Games … and then the pandemic hit and all that went out the window. I went through a couple of surgeries that blocked me from riding again and again. Somehow, by the end of the year, I’ve managed to get the majority of horses to their final events, at Hagyard in Kentucky, Galway Downs in California, and Tryon, North Carolina. 

Obviously, this year many events have been canceled. I’ve had to have some fill-in riders, but I’ve always at the back of my mind been trying to steer this squadron of horses on a similar path to what we’d planned at the beginning of the year.

I have to admit, coming into 2021 will be the first year I come up with my six-month game plan where I’m expecting the unexpected. I think for the first time in my career, I’m quite aware that nothing will go to plan. Events will be canceled, travel could potentially be banned and our business and income will most likely be unpredictable. I suppose anyone reading this will be in a similar boat, and we all need to have this ability to roll with the punches and come to terms with the fact that our lifestyles might have to change, but we’re fortunate in our sport that it’s an outdoor sport and has more chance of surviving than an indoor contact sport. Life as we know it will definitely be different in 2021. 

How has your business changed this year?

I think it’s important to celebrate this new way of doing things. Professionally and personally, we all actually have a new opportunity. There are parts of your life that will be better than pre-pandemic. I think I’m spending a lot more time with the family and finding time to train the horses without a lot of distractions that get in the way. I’m also riding fewer horses at the competitions and feel more focused and dialed-in and not so frantic every weekend. 

For me, 2021 will start off like every year in America as our team relocates to Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, and we’ll spend the month of January gently preparing for the competitions and building fitness. I have an awesome crew that works for me: I love being around fit, inspired young athletes who are chasing their dreams like I was years ago. We’re lucky to be at top facilities and surrounded by high-end horses and riders, blacksmiths and grooms. It could be worse. 

We had a very interesting meeting with our accountants the other day, and being professional horse trainers, we have a number of small avenues of income that all contribute to the big number that we must repay the bank every month. Before I get into that, I’ll never forget in March/April this year, I was in a slight moment of internal panic when the pandemic hit, and I turned on the news and everyone was horrified about how life might change. Nine months later, it’s interesting to reflect on the year. 

Our competition attendance has been way down and obviously in regard to this, the small portions of income we usually make coaching at events, our grooms’ fees, prize money and the bit of shipping money we make traveling to events is minimal compared to what it usually is. 

Both Silva and I have been able to teach and coach more than usual this year. A lot of the riders we work with have taken advantage of the lull in competitions to focus on their training, and we’ve done more clinics than usual around the country. As of yet we’re very fortunate that we haven’t had too many horses depart our program. The dressage and eventing owners are awesome people and in it for the long haul, understanding that the process takes years and years of training, with competitions along the way.

A few of our sponsors have pulled back a little bit, which obviously can be expected considering their sales are significantly down. Funny enough, horse sales and people looking to purchase a new horse are higher: I think people have the time to go look for a new horse, which has been a surprising development to me.

My advice to any other professional out there is to work as hard as you can and make the most of every opportunity, because you’re not sure where the next opportunity will come along. It’s not the time to ease up: A lot of people are sitting back and putting their feet up, but this is a good time to improve yourself and your business and come out blazing in 2021.

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Tagged under: 2020, boyd-martin, equestrian, eventing

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
#horseshow #horses #horse #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #horselove #horsestagram #instagram #showjumping #equestrianlife #equine  #horsebackriding #dressage #horselife #pony #of #horserider #horseshoe #horsemanship #horseshowlife #riding #instahorse #horseaddict #horseofinstagram #sidelinesmagazine
It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
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🖥Ryan.p.f@hotmail.com
☎️(714) 357-2714

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
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