Cheaters
Sunday, October 23 2011
“Once a horse figures out he can cheat you, it’s damn near impossible to get him to stop.” These words were spoken by a friend who trains western pleasure horses, talking about how one of his horses “cheats “ the rider in one direction, by contorting his body in a way that makes him more comfortable on that lead. He can tune the horse to go better with some basic dressage, but as soon as the client gets on the horse, it reverts immediately back to its more comfortable way of going, robbing the rider of a decent ribbon. I think the quote can be used in almost every corner of the horse world. Horses “cheat” us in any number of ways: stopping at jumps, not landing on both leads, refusing to load on trailers, the list is almost infinite. In some cases, the horse is just plain being naughty, and needs consistent discipline. In most cases though, I believe there is a consistent underlying cause. 0 Faults I don’t hear it as often as I used to, but some people talk about “one-sided” horses
- Published in Injecting Perspective, Z-Blogs
¡Baile! U.S. Dressage Dances its Way to a Full Medal Sweep at Pan Ams
Thursday, October 20 2011
Dressage competition at the 2011 Pan American Games wrapped up on Wednesday, October 19th in the best possible fashion.
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
Martin, Lyman Produce Clear Rounds to Claim 2011 USEF National Eventing Championships
Monday, October 17 2011
Elkton, MD - Sunday brought an action-packed slate of show jumping at the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International. With the top riders in both the CCI3* and CCI2* divisions tremendously close, clear rounds were at a premium. Boyd Martin and Kylie Lyman rose to the occasion producing fault-free rounds to win their CCI3* and CCI2* divisions as well as claim 2011 USEF National Eventing Championships.
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
A Gloriously Good Read.
Thursday, October 13 2011
If you’re the kind of nerd who rewards yourself with a good book and a nice spot on the couch after a hectic work week, get ready to fire up your Kindle. Proceed immediately to Amazon.com and download Blaze of Glory, by m. garzon. Do not be swayed by the conventional title, the Young Adult label, or the very young child on the cover who has nothing at all to do with the actual story. Thanks to Horse Junkies United , On the Line discovered an addicting guilty pleasure of a novel last week with a level of steam and scandal that is way over the top –and oh so enjoyable to read
- Published in On the Line, Z-Blogs
Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere Jump Immaculately to Land in the Top 15 at the Boekelo CCI3*
Sunday, October 09 2011
Lexington, KY - Boyd Martin carried the torch for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team on the final day of the Boekelo CCI3*. Riding Otis Barbotiere and Remington XXV, Martin (West Grove, PA) produced two top 35 results in his first attempt at the Dutch premiere CCI3*. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere Photo ©StockImageServices.com
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
John French Prevails in WCHR Professional Finals at 2011 Capital Challenge Horse Show
Saturday, October 08 2011
Kristi Siam Wins ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals The best six hunter riders in the country this year – Scott Stewart, Kelley Farmer, John French, Jenny Karazissis, Hunt Tosh, and Elizabeth Boyd – competed in the WCHR Professional Finals presented by the John R. Ingram Fund. The head-to-head unique competition saw John French of San Juan Bautista, CA, jump to the top of the leaderboard for his third win in the history of the class. Earlier in the day, Kristi Siam led the victory gallop in the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals sponsored by ARIAT International. The Capital Challenge Horse Show, held at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center, will run through Sunday, October 9
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
Big Money = Big Sport: An Exciting Day at the Pfizer Million
Monday, September 12 2011
The scene by the ingate was tense. The crowd lining the hill grew with riders and their connections as the class went on and rider after rider came away with one rail, two rails, six rails. When Duncan McFarlane, 21st to go, finally notched the first clear round, the crowd was overjoyed. As Duncan is based in Northern California, On the Line was especially overjoyed to see a hometown rider shine on the other side of the country in this incredibly difficult class
- Published in On the Line, Z-Blogs
Peters Maintains His Lead in the Intermediaire I National Dressage Championship; Leibler Cruises to National Young Rider Dressage Championship; and…
Sunday, September 11 2011
Gladstone, NJ - The third day of the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions meant the second day of the USEF Intermediaire I National Dressage Championship. The results remained unchanged as Steffen Peters won his third class in a row taking the top spot in the Intermediaire I test on Weltino’s Magic with a score of 76.421%. He fought back from a couple of mistakes early on and overcame a couple of misunderstandings to duplicate his win in yesterday’s Prix St. Georges. “It wasn’t quite as easy,” said Peters. “There were a couple of misunderstandings. When I asked for the left half-pass he thought extended trot
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
Escape from Florida – Hunter Prix style
Sunday, September 11 2011
Late summer in Florida has been lovely (no, really), but this weekend, On the Line is enjoying an escape north, to a little 75-degree sunshine sans the humidity. Naturally, I’m at a horse show to watch a grand prix. It’s Pfizer Million weekend! The United States’ only $1,000,000 grand prix show jumping class made big waves when it debuted last year.
- Published in On the Line, Z-Blogs
William Fox-Pitt Wins Record Sixth Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials; American Boyd Martin Defies the Odds With Neville Bardos
Sunday, September 04 2011
Lexington, KY - There are incredible stories and then there is the story of the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Not only did William Fox-Pitt ride Parklane Hawk to a record sixth win of his career, but a little American horse named Neville Bardos defied every possible odd to finish seventh in the world’s toughest four-star. Fox-Pitt and the New Zealand Thoroughbred added one time fault in the show jumping to his dressage score in an otherwise flawless effort over the four days of competition. His dressage score of 39.7 was good enough for second place after the first phase but when overnight leader Simone Dietermann fell off Free Easy NRW on the cross country, Fox-Pitt inherited a lead he then defended with style. But the story of the competition continued to be a scrappy little failed racehorse from Australia. Neville Bardos fulfilled Boyd Martin’s dream of competing at Burghley and with his tenacity and bravery put a nightmare of a summer behind his family. A barn fire ripped through Martin’s barn in May, and Neville Bardos was trapped in the fire the longest of those horses that survived
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs