Upperville’s Oaks vs Heat Wave…
Thursday, June 09 2011
It’s tough for the oaks at Upperville to counteract this horribly muggy heat wave – like breathing underwater. We just don’t have much energy tonight
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Upperville – Under The Oaks
Wednesday, June 08 2011
This is the 158th year of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show – the oldest show in America boasts some great improvements, but more than anything else it is a timeless tradition in the heart of Virginia’s horse country. The week is young, but already competition is heating up on both sides of John Mosby Highway just east of the picturesque village of Upperville. Here are a few photos to make you wish you were there… Oh, and we have to tell you that we were very remiss about jotting quick notes while catching quick pix of winners and we simply can’t figure out who is on #149 or what class it was on Tuesday, but the shot is win-win all the way. Be sure to check out the results on horseshowsonline – Upperville has two listings, one for Hunters and one for Jumpers. First stop at Upperville - get your golf cart! We do a lot of running back and forth between hunter and jumper rings.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Results of “Field Study” Prove Personal (Work) Theory
Thursday, May 26 2011
Okay, this is a quickie – have a CEQE about Lord Peter pending, but must finish deadlines first. This is all about why we stand up at our drafting table as if we are rock stars to write and edit pix. Sitting down broadens the bum, spreads the derriere, widens the caboose! We borrowed a wooden stool from dear friends who had a couple of extras. We liked the idea of the curved “saddle-seat” – yeah, well, there’s a reason why we got into the habit of standing up to work. It’s like standing in your irons in two-point or riding without irons: standing to work produces isometrics and movement.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
When It Rains, It Pours . . . Especially in England
Monday, May 23 2011
In horses you know you need to be careful when everything seems to be going quite well. With all three of my horses going well, great house, great boyfriend, great weather, things were bound to have a turn for the worse. I had my two top horses, Bree and Harvey, entered at Hambleden in the open intermediate a few weekends ago. Harvey was a little machine with an amazing 27 in the dressage and no jump penalties in the show jumping or the cross country. If you knew Harvey personally, you would understand that achieving a 27 in the dressage is verging on miracle status. I had people coming up to me the rest of the day and sending me messages . . . “How did you get Harvey to start playing the game on the flat?!” I am not entirely sure why my little superstar advance horse has decided at the young age of 15 to embrace dressage, but I am not about to start asking questions! With Harvey on great form and a text message from William Fox-Pitt saying “Go Harvey!” I was already beginning to finalize my last big gallops before Bramham CCI 3*. This elated feeling soon left me when poor Harvey didn’t trot up sound and the vet got out the ultrasound machine. To make a sad story at least a bit short, Harvey and I will not be able to compete at Bramham in a few weeks and my days are now resigned to hand grazing, icing, and rolling bandages. As the Brits say: “I’m gutted!” Poor Harvey is all clipped and ready for a party! As if things weren’t bad enough, my car broke down and I was forced to drive Roberta, my trustee lorry, back and forth from the yard for the better half of a week. Thank goodness for Roberta and my good friends Katherine and Giovanni for managing to get me out to the yard everyday! Getting back to Miss Bree . .
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
Rolex- An Ode to Sinead and Rebecca
Saturday, May 07 2011
After a fairly anticlimactic result for the Americans and the Canadians at Badminton, I am so excited for some of the horse and rider combinations from Rolex last weekend. Most notably for me are the performances from Rebecca Howard (CAN) and Sinead Halpin (USA). Both Rebecca and Sinead have been good friends and mentors of mine for almost ten years and you couldn’t meet two riders that work harder or enjoy their horses more. I started working for Rebecca and Sinead when I was 17 years old in Middleburg, Virginia when they were partners in running Dunlavin Eventing
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
Very Late Badminton Comments!
Monday, May 02 2011
All I can do is apologize for my extreme tardiness as it is now Sunday . . . almost a week after the prize giving at Badminton! It was over Monday afternoon, I then had an event on a young one Wednesday, lessons Friday afternoon and then a flight out Saturday. I am actually writing from sunny California! After having a good run at the CIC *** at Burnham Market a few weeks ago, I decided it was now or never if I wanted to go check up on my family before the season gets even more hectic! Badminton was nothing short than a dream come true for die-hard Mark Todd fans! (To be honest, I am becoming one of them!) At the start of cross country day, with good old Andrew Nicholson having an immaculate clear round inside the time, it was starting to look like Badminton would end up to be a dressage competition. Although after about the first five runs, problems started to occur all over the course, with many rider and horse combinations having issues at the sunken road. Possibly the most significant dilemma was how tired the horses were getting by the end of the course, localized around the quarry. This is where Oli’s horse fell and even Mark’s horse “Ben” (“Landvision) left both hind legs, only barely dragging them over the log with immense difficulty.
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
Mary King Crowned at Rolex!
Sunday, May 01 2011
Wow – it all came down to the last six rides at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event – Mary King went early with the second-placed Fernhill Urco, putting in a double clear to maintain their score of 49.7 – the only question was whether her top-placed Kings Temptress would leave up all the rails. Before that happened, however, Oliver Townend and ODT Sonas Rovatio put in their double clear, William Fox-Pitt hunted Neuf des Coeurs around for a double clear, then Hannah Sue Burnett and Exponential took out two rails to drop a bit. Next it was Manoir de Carneville and Sinead Halpin who put in a double clear. The tension amped up as 3rd-placed Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest pulled one for four faults, which dropped them one place, because Mary King and Kings Temptress came in and showed the world how a first class rider rides double clear rounds under pressure. They left all all the pretty painted fences untouched and we had our Rolex Champion and Reserve Champion – making history and scoring a first. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville (“Tate”) earned the four-star championship as highest placed American, along with third place, a rosette above William Fox-Pitt and Neuf des Coeurs with Fredericks and Be My Guest in fifth.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Britannia Rules Rolex XC, Dramatic Impact On Leaderboard
Sunday, May 01 2011
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes – David Bowie’s rocker kept playing in our head as the Cross-Country, designed by Derek di Grazia for the Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, provided its own dramatic footage to rival the opening credits of the old Wide World of Sports show hosted by Jim McKay for ABC, featuring the kettle drum roll as film rolled about The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Defeat. But at Kentucky Horse Park it wasn’t that luckless ski-jumper tumbling off the end of the jump run, it was the Rolex four-star cross-country course that looked straightforward and yet tested the best of our riders. Right now, Mary King (GBR) reigns in the two top spots with Kings Temptress and Fernhill Urco, 2007 Rolex winner Clayton Fredericks (AUS) sits in third with Be My Guest, and the highest placed American, Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville follow in fourth place – both of them contesting their first-ever four-star. Allison Springer & Arthur - bittersweet disappointment after a brilliant start.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
OMG! KA-CHANG! Cross-Country Rings Huge Changes!
Sunday, May 01 2011
The leaderboard has turned inside out and upside down in a glorious day of cross-country at Kentucky Rolex Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone. The press conference just ended and the top three are: 1st & 2nd: Mary King (GBR) – Kings Temptress (47.7), Fernhill Urco (49.7) “I can’t believe it—lying in first and second places! I’ve never been in this position before, especially not at this level, on two very different horses,” said King, who’s thrilled to be eventing still at 49. “I’m going to celebrate tonight, because you never know what’s around the corner.” 3rd: Clayton Frederics (GBR) – Be My Guest “She’s a pretty good cross-country mare, if I can keep her quiet. She was fantastic today—I really enjoyed it,” said Fredericks, 43, who won his Rolex watch in 2007. 4th – Sinead Halpin (USA) – Manoir de Carneville “I was kind of excited when I first walked the course, because I thought it would be perfect for him,” said Halpin, 29, her horse is 11; this is their first four-star together and they jumped clean but ran 11 seconds slow. “I watched Mary [King] go, and then I didn’t want to watch any more.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs