LaurenGallops

Condolences and prayers for the horses, injured and lost, for Boyd and Silva Martin, and everyone connected with them. A barn fire shortly after midnight broke out in Boyd Martin’s 3-day barn at True Prospect Farm. We got a phone call from Beth Harpham (Sidelines’ Chasin’ blogger) but she didn’t have any details except that the fire was at Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm. So we started googling and discovered that Nan Rawlins posted the tragic news, via Mythic Landing, on her website, Eventing Day . Here’s the gist, but best that you read for yourself.

Five horses were evacuated by Lillian Heard, Caitlin Silliman, and Ryan Wood, who were treated and released from Jennersille Hospital. New Bolton is treating four horses, including Neville Bardos, who with Boyd posted the best American finish at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games – their 10th place helped the US 3-day team finish 4th. Six horses perished in the fire: Call Me Ollie, Charla, Ariel, Phantom Pursuit, Cagney Herself, and Summer Breeze.

Please, whatever your higher power, send up prayers for everyone – the four horses being treated for burns, the six lovely equine athletes who lost their lives, the five who made it out safely and their brave rescuers  – and please include all the people connected with these horses, because there is nothing worse than witnessing flames consume a barn with horses still in the stalls. You feel totally and absolutely powerless, because there is nothing you can do to help them.

Our prayers and blessings to all concerned.

In the meantime, please pray for the recovery of Neville Bardos, Otis Barbotiere, Catch a Star and Ambassador’s Rose: they are in the best hands at New Bolton, the University of Pennsylvania’s state of the art vet hospital in Kennet Square, PA.

This update from Eventing Nation tells us a bit more about the fire – be prepared for a photo of the inferno.

More about what you can do to help later as and when that information is made available.

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. We vouch for the fact that you will rock from side to side and experience both voluntary and involuntary muscle contractions. Sitting down leads to leaden lethargy in the glutes. Our backside hasn’t felt this big in years and our thighs seem bigger too.

We thought it would be a good idea to have the saddle-seated high chair, but it didn’t do us any real benefits.

While it’s been less than 10 weeks, we have sat most of that time. We are not willing to fry our brains by counting up the hours we spent working on a bigger behind. Trust us when we say, we’re back on our feet.

Even active people will suffer from ‘gluteal spread’ if they sit too long. People who drive for a living – vehicles, equipment operators, farm machinery, riding mowers. However, office workers are at the greatest risk from working and living too many hours indoors at their desks. Especially if they tend to eat like farmhands but don’t burn up the fuel…

While most office environments might frown on someone jacking their desk up on cinder blocks, you can do it with plastic crates. Just elevate your laptop and look at the monitor while keeping your head as level as possible. You’ll find yourself moving around a lot more, shifting your balance and your weight from foot to foot. If you work in high heels, trade them for a pair of decent running shoes or earth shoes – something ergonomic.

You might find that the calories you burn standing up and the muscle contractions that result from an upright position at your work station add up to inches off in the long run. We also noticed a couple extra pounds, too – boo, hiss… it didn’t happen overnight, mind you – it took two months. We started thinking about all this a week or so ago, and today it hit like the proverbial coup de foudre (bolt of lightning): we took a good look in the mirror and stepped on the scales.

We always wondered if our theory had any merit. Now we know it does. The stool goes back to its owners this weekend and we’re on our feet – literally and figuratively, back on track to taut glutes and a more streamlined butt and thighs.

Okay, time’s up – back to work.

Here’s a CEQE teaser – talk about a great engine – for our next post:

Lord Peter has a great engine and shows both talent and enthusiasm for jumping. The person long-lining him is Bryan McDonald, who grew up with Thoroughbreds, Irish Draught & Sport Horses, and Connemaras - eventing, hunting and racing in Ireland. This was taken mid-March and Peter has come a long way - the subject for a post in the near future. ©Lauren R Giannini

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.

Here are a few photos – stay tuned for our impressions of Rolex later on.

Hug your horse - Mary King and Kings Temptress take a lap of joy after winning the Rolex Crown of Excellence in front of a crowd of 15,743. The British veteran wept tears of joy, to boot. ©Lauren R Giannini

Second place – also to Mary King with Fernhill Urco – talk about the King’s share of the purse! First place was worth $80,000, so Mary earned some big bucks for her efforts this week.

Mary King partnered Fernhill Urco to the reserve title at Rolex, earning some big bucks out of the total prize money of $250,000. ©Lauren R Giannini

Then, there were the rookie Americans, pretty much fresh off a stint in England chez William Fox-Pitt’s yard, pre-Beijing Olympics: Sinead Halpin took “Tate” with her and wanted lessons from Fox-Pitt – she even offered to pay him, but he told her that they would work horses and they would discuss things, but he would not teach her how to do this (event) – that she had to figure it out for herself. Obviously, it worked. Sinead and “Tate” ran their first four-star with no jumping faults to garner the National Four-Star Championship – not bad for debutantes at this level – in fact, daggone good.

Tears of joy after double clear show jumping round that put them into third place: there's a lot to be said for learning by doing and figuring it out for yourself. It certainly worked this weekend. © Lauren R Giannini

Okay, got lots more pix, but first have to put together print issue coverage – so look for more posts and photos about why this Rolex was as special as they get…

For lots of information, visit Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

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. ©

Cross-country day began with third-placed Allison Springer and Arthur the first duo out of the start box. They went great guns around the course until 26ab, the Offset Brushes. Arthur stumbled, Allison fell off and that ended their bid for a second Rolex watch. They’re fine, but what a sorry way to finish their fourth Rolex. Allison had won the Rolex watch drawing at the sponsor/exhibitor party Thursday evening, plus a pair of bling boots as winner of the distaff Dubarry Style Award for the first vet inspection. Allison had a second ride, Destination Known (“Burger”) who handled his first four-star XC until the Land Rover Hollow (13abc) where he skidded to a 20-point penalty, then had another refusal at the Couble Corners (15ab), but a third stop at the Normandy Bank (22abc) resulted in their elimination.

Karen O’Connor showed her great skill in getting a rookie horse around a testing four-star course as Quintus 54, owned by Team Rebecca LLC, met the challenge and jumped cleanly with 14 times penalties to improve from 24th to 13th: still a good chance of taking home a rosette…

Karen O'Connor & Quintus 54, who proved himself in the four-star, jumping clear, but picking up time penalties - they're in the hunt, so to speak, for a rosette, but the painted rails can be so cruel in those shallow cups... © Lauren R Giannini

R-Star and Kristi Nunnink  stood 13th after dressage but came to grief at 15ab, the Double Corners, when they fell and were eliminated. R-Star got up right away, Kristi was taken to get her arm checked out, but she’s been spotted here at the KY Horse Park.

The Land Rover Hollow – 13abc – featured a skinny brush that proved the waterloo for no less than nine competitors, mostly refusals and runouts, that jacked up the score for:

Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Eagle, who still moved up from 25th to 19th;

Michael Pollard & Icarus – dropping them from 11th to 22;

Kelly Prather & Ballinakill Glory – another 20 penalties at Normandy Bank dropped them to last place, 30th;

Peter Barry (CAN) & Kilrodan Abbott, but they moved from 35th to 27th;

Will Coleman & Twizzle – eliminated at the Double Corners;

James Alliston & Jumbo’s Jake – 20 penalties at Rolex Head of the Lake, dropping from tied at 5th to 20th BUT his second rider, Parker, zoomed up from  43rd after dressage to 15th post XC;

Olivia Loiacano, 22yo, & Subway – rocketed from 44th after dressage to 17th on the strength of jumping clear cross-country with 12.8 time penalties, in their first four-star ever.

The list is incomplete, because we keep running out of time and getting diverted to important things like a course walk with renowned international show jumping course designer, Richard Jeffery, of Bournemouth, England.

The show jumping starts very shortly – more in a few hours about who will wear the Rolex Crown of Excellence after the dramatic finale to 2011 Rolex Kentucky, presented by Bridgestone…

But we gotta say one thing’s for sure – it ain’t over ’til the final jumping test is over. In this morning’s vet jog, 29 presented and received the ground jury’s nod. Only one did not present: Wonderful Will who was in 12th after cross-country, Michael Pollard will pilot Parker, 14th place, over the painted rails.

Crushing disappointment for Tiana Coudray & Ringwood Magister - in first after dressage - to be eliminated on the cross-country - shown here, squinting at the splash as they navigate through the Rolex Head of the Lake. © Lauren R Giannini

Right now only 14.7 penalty points separate the leader Mary King and Kings Temptress from 10th place. Ollie Townend and ODT Sonas Rovatio, 7th, are looking to wipe out last year’s memory of that fall and subsequent elimination with his second mount due to injuries. Clayton Fredericks would love a second watch; ditto, William Fox-Pitt. Sinead Halpin and Hannah Sue Burnett would love their first, ditto Jessica Phoenix (CAN) and Boyd Martin. Kim Severson started a collection with the great Winsome Adante that she would love to continue with “Paddy” and Mary King sits in the catbird seat.

Who will leave up the rails?

That answer and more late this afternoon!

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. I sat in my car and tried not to think about it, but the announcing here is really good and I had to hear what was going on.”

Of the 48 horse-rider combos that started dressage, one was eliminated in the test and three withdrew before the start of the cross-country, leaving 41. At the conclusion of the XC, 30 horses finished the coursed, three retired voluntarily, and eight were eliminated in the course of the day, leaving 30 for the show jumping finale on Sunday.

Please note: For the first time in its history, the Rolex Equestrian Championships presented by Land Rover will air LIVE on NBC Sports, Sunday, May 1, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT.

Let’s get back to the recap of today’s CH-CH-CH-CH-Changes in the leaderboard – we’re also shooting/enjoying the Freestyle Reining Championship in the Alltech Arena at Kentucky Horse Park. There are four celebrity demos – Karen O’Connor, Gina Miles (who sat on a reining horse for the first time at 8:38 this monring!), Hamish Cargill (AUS) and David O’Connor. plus we’re famished and hoping for dinner and beddy-bye before midnight…

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat were the extremes that pretty much colored the entire day. Rookie horses and riders at the four-star level got around, veterans racked up penalty points. We’ll post again tomorrow morning with greater detail about the drama of the cross-country and the fun of the Freestyle Reining Championship, but here’s a quickie summary of the good and the bad news.

The cross-country might have dropped some down and others right out of the competition, but it served to elevate the following:

Hannah Sue Burnett and St. Barths jumped from 20th to 5th.

William Fox-Pitt (GBR)  and Neuf des Coeurs – from 19th to 6th.

Oliver Townend (GBR) and ODT Sonas Rovatio – 26th to 7th

Jessica Phoenix (CAN) and Exponential – 30th to 8th

Boyd Martin and Remington XXV – stayed on 9th

Kim Severson and Tipperary Liahdnan – slipped from 7th to 10th.

There were three double clears: King and Kings Temptress, Burnett and St. Barths, Phoenix and Exponential.

That’s all for now. We’ve earned our dinner!

Cheers to Debbie Rosen & The Alchemyst - they had a refusal at the HSBC Water Park ((5abc) and Debbie opted to retire voluntarily. She's a fine horseman, a really good sport, and she loves her horse(s). This year she was a featured Rolex rider. No matter what the final score is, in our book Debbie is a classy lady and a winner, to boot. © Lauren R Giannini