What's Happenin'

Nearly 40 Thoroughbreds gathered Sunday July 11th at the Kentucky Horse Park to compete in two Thoroughbred restricted Hunter/Jumper classes. New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program partnered with the Robert Murphy Horse Show and put on a first class event where Thoroughbreds from many of the Midwest and East Coast states traveled to participate.

“If you build it they will come right?” shared New Vocations Program Director, Anna Ford. “If we create venues where horses leaving the track can show and compete against other Thoroughbreds, the classes are sure to be full.” This was definitely true for the New Vocations Thoroughbred Hunter Classic sponsored by the National HBPA and the NTRA, as well as theNew Vocations Mini Prix, sponsored by Castleton Lyons, when 38 Thoroughbreds competed for a total of $5000 in prize money.

The event drew many spectators as the announcer read a brief history on each horse as it entered the arena to be judged over a course of fences. Their histories ranged from graded stakes winners with earnings over 100k to horses that only raced a couple times earning next to nothing. The highlight of the day was the awards ceremony when the top four in both classes galloped around the arena for a victory pass.

Sarah Reilly and Paris Review

Sarah Reilly with her 5 year old gelding Paris Review won the $2500 New Vocations Hunter Classic sponsored by the National HBPA and NTRA. Paris Review a son of Commendable was bred with the intentions to be sold at one of Keeneland’s sales by Mill Ridge Farm and Joe Dodgen. However, when it became clear that he would not be very marketable Sarah and her husband Sean Reilly purchased the colt and developed him into a show horse. “We loved the colt so much that we actually went back and purchased his dam Chosen Ticket,” explained Reilly. “I think many people have forgotten how good a Thoroughbred can be in the show ring. I personally prefer a Thoroughbred over any other breed and I would love to see more opportunities for them to compete.”

Allison Davidson and Sweet William

Allison Davidson with 16 yr old Sweet William won the $2500 New Vocations Mini Prix sponsored by Castleton Lyons. Although the gelding’s tattoo is now unreadable and race record unknown he clearly did race in his younger years. What is known of his history is that following his racing career he became a very successful Eventer. Now owned and trained by Elaine Schott from River Mountain Farm and shown by Davidson he has excelled as a Jumper. “The Thoroughbreds have great heart, and they always try so hard to please their rider,” explained Schott. “I think these type of classes help showcase the versatility of this breed.”

At the closing of the day Ford summed things up by saying, “It’s truly touching to see so many Thoroughbreds who spent the first part of their life going around a racetrack now enjoying the second half going around a show arena. This is just the beginning to something that I know will grow into a much larger and hopefully, trend setting event.”

Contact: Anna Ford/ Program Director,  www.horseadoption.com

Resolution of the Mclain Ward/Sapphire World Cup elimination dispute is good for our sport!

The North American Riders Group believes to advance the sport of show jumping, all decisions related to its future must put the “sport” itself above all else.  This is an example of that.  McLain, the USEF and the FEI could have continued a prolonged legal battle but the additional gains on either side would have been for personal gain or pride.   Instead a positive resolution has been forged that publicly recognizes the decision was INCORRECT and, importantly, has resulted in a revised protocol for hypersensitivity.   Details of the revised protocol will be issued before the Aachen CSIO, but from what we understand already they will require more checks and balances which should eliminate any misuse of the protocol either by mistake or abuse of power.  Everyone in show jumping should benefit from this resolution.

We applaud those involved for this resolution while we still recognize that McLain can’t get back the World Cup he lost in Geneva!

From the FEI:

After a full investigation into the facts surrounding the disqualification of Sapphire (McLain Ward) at the FEI World Cup Final in Geneva, the FEI has determined that the horse was incorrectly eliminated from the second round on 16 April 2010, however, Sapphire’s disqualification from the final round of the World Cup remains in place.

McLain Ward will immediately be awarded all ranking points and prize money related to his second place finish in the second round of the FEI World Cup Final. This will not affect ranking points and prize money awarded to other riders in the competition.

As a result of this investigation, the FEI has also decided to issue mandatory guidelines to be applied by the Veterinary Commissions appointed for FEI Events in order to strengthen the hypersensitivity protocol that was applied in Geneva. These guidelines will be communicated to all National Federations prior to the CHIO in Aachen (GER).

The USEF, McLain Ward and Tim Ober have stated that they do not agree with the FEI on the question of whether Sapphire displayed a level of sensitivity that justified her disqualification from the third round of the World Cup and also disagree with the process followed however, in the best interest of the sport, they have dropped their legal case against the FEI and will not challenge this disqualification.

*Read USEF’s response to the FEI’s statement here

Helmet Manufacturers to offer discounts through participating retailers

Aurora, OH (June 17, 2010) — The riders4helmets campaign operated by helmet advocate Jeri Bryant and supported by SUCCEED®, has organized a National Helmet Awareness Day endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation, to be held on July 10^th, 2010. riders4helmets has teamed up with leading helmet manufacturers to offer discounts on helmets to equestrians via participating retailers Nationwide on this day. Helmet brands that are to be included in the promotion to date include: Troxel, Charles Owen, GPA and Aegis (Devon-Aire). Visit www.riders4helmets.com to locate a dealer near you.

An official event to celebrate National Helmet Awareness Day will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY that will be a fun-filled educational event, featuring experts in safety and leading equestrians. More details will be announced on that shortly.

John Hall, President of Freedom Health, LLC, manufacturers of SUCCEED®, said “The National Helmet Awareness Day is an educational event that we hope will become an annual event on the calendar. The riders4helmets campaign goal is to provide information to equestrians on the benefits of wearing a helmet, in order that they can then make an informed choice for their own safety. We’re proud to support this.”

Kemi O’Donnell who lost her 12-year old daughter Christen as a result of head injuries sustained from a riding accident in 1998, welcomed the National Helmet Awareness Day and riders4helmets campaign. ”I am grateful to riders4helmets for launching this campaign to highlight the importance of always wearing a ASTM/SEI certified helmet while in the saddle.”

Roy Burek, CEO, of Charles Owen who are participating in the event by offering promotions on helmets through their participating retailers on July 10^th stated “everyone knows that wearing a helmet for every ride makes the most sense. Charles Owen would like to ensure that on this first National Helmet Awareness Day, price is no longer a barrier to wearing the safest.” GPA Helmets is another helmet manufacturer that is participating in National Helmet Awareness Day. “GPA is thrilled to be apart of the riders4helmets National Helmet Awareness Day,” said Stuart Bassin, Vice-President, Frantisi Incorporated. “We are very concerned with rider safety which is a large part of why we are in the helmet business!  We are also happy to be participating along with many of our dealers in being able to extend never before offered discounts to riders on this special day.”

“National Helmet Awareness Day is an important event that Troxel is proud to support”, said Shay Timms, CEO of Troxel.  ”Since Troxel developed the first ASTM/SEI certified helmet in 1992, our engineers and R&D team with over 75 years of combined helmet experience have reviewed thousands of accident helmets.  The reality is helmets are strikingly effective, reducing head injuries by up to 80%.   Equestrian athletes are moving to overcome a natural and understandable resistance to protective helmets, and National Helmet Awareness Day is a significant step forward in helmet acceptance.” Andres Lendoiro, Vice President of Devon Aire added, “Devon Aire is pleased to support and participate in both National Helmet Awareness Day and the riders4helmets campaign by offering promotions through participating Devon Aire retailers on the Aegis helmet on July 10^th. The safety of our customers is Devon Aire’s primary concern.”

Individuals or organizations wishing to hold their own event to recognize National Helmet Awareness Day may email lwhite@freedomhealthllc.com for helmet awareness graphics and other support materials. “You don’t physically have to attend the event at the Kentucky Horse Park to participate in Helmet Awareness Day,” said Jeri Bryant, co-founder of the riders4helmets campaign. “You can participate just by wearing a helmet on July 10^th, no matter whether you are trail riding, showing or competing.”

The www.riders4helmets.com campaign has already received the official endorsement of USEF, USEA, USDF, ARIA, EAF, CHA, PRO, EMSA and many leading equestrians such as Robert Dover, Lendon Gray, Ilse Schwarz, Allison Springer and more.  The website homepage is a blog that will be updated frequently with news regarding the campaign.

SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program is an official product sponsor of USEF, USDF and USEA. It is produced and distributed exclusively by Freedom Health, LLC of Aurora, Ohio. The company is focused on finding, perfecting and delivering superior, innovative products that address real and significant health-related issues for animals and the people who care for them. Visit www.succeed-equine.com for further information.

Flexible, owned by Harry and Mollie Chapman and ridden by Rich Fellers won the $55,000 CSI 2 FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix and the $30,000 CSI 2 Thunderbird Show Park Spring Classic at the CSI 2 British Columbia Open at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC, Canada June 2-6, 2010.

At the Del Mar National Horse Show in California May 4-9, 2010, Flexible and Rich Fellers won the $100,000 Grand Prix of Del Mar and the $25,000 Surfside Grand Prix.

Flexible has been ranked #1 as of 6/4/2010 for 17 weeks on the USEF/ROLEX Show Jumping Ranking List.

Rich Fellers has been named “Rider of the Week” and Flexible “Horse of the Week” several times during the 2010 show season by the USEF/ROLEX Show Jumping Ranking List.

This years show schedule for Flexible and Rich Fellers includes the Meydan FEI National Cup Tour to qualify for 2010 Alltech FEI WEG (World Equestrian Games)  9/25/2010 –10/10/2010 in Lexington, Kentucky.  The tour is made up of competitions in Falsterbo, Sweden, July 8-11; Hickstead, England, July 28-August 1 and Dublin, Ireland, August 4-8.

Up to date show results and the complete 2010 Show Schedule for Flexible and Rich Fellers are online at www.FlexibleGrandPrixJumper.com.

For More Information contact:

Carol Ives

Sport Horse Marketing Internationale

www.FlexibleGrandPrixJumper.com

503 638 7716

Riders4helmets website aims to encourage more equestrians to wear helmets

Leading equine digestive health product Succeed® has teamed up with helmet advocate Jeri Bryant to launch an online helmet awareness campaign—www.riders4helmets.com. The campaign is designed to educate equestrians on the benefits of wearing helmets.

The Equestrian Medical Safety Association (EMSA) states that head injuries account for approximately 60% of deaths resulting from equestrian accidents. Approximately 12,000 equestrians visited emergency departments for head injuries in the U.S. in 2007 (Source: NEISS data). Succeed® and Bryant aim to help reduce that figure by raising awareness of how wearing a properly fitted ASTM/SEI-certified helmet can reduce the severity of head injuries sustained while riding and possibly prevent death.

“After donating helmet awareness t-shirts to the Succeed eBay store, I realized we could take things a step further,” said Bryant, referring to the web store established to raise funds for dressage star Courtney King-Dye, who was seriously injured in March while riding without a helmet. “I am proud of the support already being pledged to the campaign,” Bryant continued.

John Hall, President of Freedom Health, LLC, manufacturers of Succeed®, added “if we encourage more riders to wear helmets and can save others from going through what Courtney and her family have experienced, then we will have done our jobs.”

The riders4helmets campaign has already received the official endorsement of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), United States Eventing Association (USEA), United States Dressage Federation (USDF), American Riding Instructors Association (ARIA), Equestrian Aid Foundation (EAF) as well as leading equestrians such as: Olympic Silver Medalist Gina Miles; veteran eventers Allison Springer, Hawley Bennett-Awad, Cathy Weischhoff and Lucinda Green; Eclipse Award Winning Jockey Frank Lovato, Jr; and dressage rider and trainer Ilse Schwarz. In addition, Charles Owen, Troxel Helmets and GPA Helmets have also pledged their support.

“Safety is one of the fundamental aspects of everything the USEF does. This campaign is a great step forward in building awareness and will help start a cultural shift in the way people think about helmets,” said USEF CEO John Long.

“The USEA is proud to support this helmet campaign as the safety of our members whenever mounted along with their horses is our top priority,” said Jo Whitehouse, CEO, USEA.

The www.riders4helmets.com campaign website homepage is a blog that will be updated frequently with news regarding the campaign. Articles already posted on the website include features on helmet certification, a dressage riders perspective, and, questions for an equine law practitioner. The website also features statistics and other equestrian helmet-related information, a forum where site visitors can share their helmet-related stories and questions, and a photo gallery of campaign supporters.

Individuals and retailers interested in either donating items to the Succeed eBay store, or selling the helmet campaign t-shirts in their stores, should email Lyndsey White at lwhite@freedomhealthllc.com for details.

Succeed® Digestive Conditioning Program is an official product sponsor of USEF, USDF and USEA. It is produced and distributed exclusively by Freedom Health, LLC, of Aurora, OH. The company is focused on finding, perfecting and delivering superior, innovative products that address real and significant health-related issues for animals and the people who care for them. Visit www.succeed-equine.com for further information on the product.

Author: Patrick Warczak

For Immediate Release
Jennifer Wood for Equestrian Life

Portola Valley, CA – June 3, 2010 – Equestrian Life is pleased to announce that they are expanding their operations to include television programming through an association with HRTV. Their specialized equestrian television programming, which will also be available atwww.equestrianlife.com, will now be a part of HRTV’s non-racing television content offering.

Equestrian Life President and Co-Founder Deana Bergquist stated, “Equestrian Life has produced short format how-to videos for our Web site for some time. We are now evolving our content production efforts to create entertaining television shows that are targeted to both equestrian enthusiasts and a more general lifestyle audience. We believe these captivating stories from across the equestrian world will appeal broadly to viewers who love great stories of passion, triumph, and the human spirit.”

Equestrian Life’s new television shows range from a travel show called ‘Horsing Around the World’ to biographies, event coverage, expert instruction and a lifestyle show called ‘For the Love of Horses’ which gets behind the scenes to explore peoples’ diverse passions for horses and how they’ve incorporated this passion into their lives. The first episode features Ralph Lauren model and Captain of the Blackwatch polo team, Nacho Figueras.

Bergquist also commented, “We are extremely excited about our evolution in equestrian programming. It will show not only equestrians, but the general public, the scope and greatness of horse sports and equestrian living.”

Equestrian Life will provide its online membership and visitors to its site at EquestrianLife.com with free access to all its programming. Starting on June 7th, 2010, HRTV will premier the Equestrian Life original programming on its TV channel on Mondays at 8:00 pm/Eastern and Pacific.

“We are thrilled to be working in association with HRTV to bring top-notch equestrian programming to the market. We think horse fans around the world are looking for high-quality television shows that speak to their passion for horses, and we look forward to delivering that to them,” stated John McGraw, Equestrian Life CEO and Co-Founder.

The offerings from Equestrian Life, debuting on Monday, June 7th with new shows continuing to debut on successive Mondays, will comprise a wide-range of exclusives including ‘The Mane Event’ series, which encompasses competition action such as the Cactus Reining Classic and the Devon Horse Show; ‘The Masters Series’ instruction from some of the industry’s greatest teachers, and ‘A Rider’s Story,’ featuring a number of riding greats such as Steffen Peters, Andrea Fappani, McLain Ward, Debbie McDonald, Gina Miles, and Laura Kraut.

For a full schedule of all airings and local channels where HRTV is available, please see:www.equestrianlife.com/tvschedule.

To watch a trailer about Equestrian Life’s partnership with HRTV please go to:www.equestrianlife.com/videos.

About Equestrian Life
Equestrian Life (www.equestrianlife.com) is a dynamic media company dedicated to the equestrian community and horse lovers across all breeds and disciplines. Equestrian Life’s website,www.equestrianlife.com, is a leading social media website for equestrians with cutting edge social media features. Awarded in 2008 as the Best New Equestrian Web Site, EquestrianLife.com is focused on providing its community with all the information and tools they need to learn and connect with other horse lovers who share the same passion. Equestrian Life is also the official television partner of HRTV for its non-racing programming, providing national exposure to key equestrian events and a wide range of other entertainment programming about horses and horse enthusiasts. Equestrian Life is the Official Social Media Partner of the U.S. Dressage Federation, the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association, the U.S. Pony Club, the Kentucky Horse Council, and the 2010 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals and is an official YouTube Channel Partner.

About HRTV
HRTV (www.hrtv.com) is a 24-hour, television-based multimedia network dedicated to the “Sport of Kings,” horseracing, featuring live racing action from many of the sport’s greatest racetracks including exclusive action from Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes, and the legendary Santa Anita Park. Passionate horse fans are also entertained and informed by HRTV’s award-winning documentaries, original programming, in-depth analysis and now a broad array of equestrian competitions and targeted lifestyle programming. The live stream of HRTV is available on a subscription basis at www.hrtvlive.com to high speed internet users worldwide. The HRTV television network is presently available via cable, telco video and satellite in approximately 19 million U.S. homes.

The Interscholastic Equestrian Association National Finals were held April 23-25 in Conyers, Georgia. In keeping with our June focus on education and horses, we asked two IEA riders who competed at the Finals to write about their experiences.

Lauren Corey (left) and Emma Beriker

Today we bring you the words of 15-year-old Emma Beriker, and tomorrow check this space for 15-year-old Lauren Corey’s account of her experience at Nationals. Both girls are 15 years old and live in Woodside, California.

IEA NATIONALS 2010 | by Emma Beriker

For equestrians, participating on a school sports team is not very common. But the Interscholastic Equestrian Association provides the opportunity for middle and high school students to take part in an equestrian team.  Having an interscholastic team is great because it allows riders to compete not only as an individual, but for a team of their peers. As a sophomore at Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley, California, this is my second year on the equestrian team. In the two years that I have participated as part of the team, I have seen rapid growth not only on our own team, but also in our zone.  It is increasingly more difficult to place in the competitions and to qualify for zones and nationals.

This past season recently topped off with the IEA National Finals held in Atlanta, Georgia. I had the privilege to qualify and compete with the other top 20 Varsity Intermediate riders across the US in both flat and jumping divisions. As my second year at Nationals, the opportunity to represent my school and ride at this event was amazing. This year it was held at the 1996 Olympics site of the Georgia International Horse Park.

The indoor ring was the center of all IEA action.

The facility was impressive to say the least. The long tree lined drive led up to an outdoor field with football stadium lights and arena seating, not a typical sight on the California circuit. Arenas and barns sprinkled the sprawling green fields, making it a picturesque scene.

One of the most challenging aspects of IEA riding was the random drawing of unfamiliar horses. Without knowing how the horse rides, a two fence warm up is all that is allowed before riding straight into the show arena. Compared to horse shows in which you know your partner’s every strength and weakness, IEA has this added extreme. I’m sure that every rider in the IEA has experienced a round in which they did not except their horse to refuse, pick up the wrong lead, or ignore the leg.

It is a true test of equitation for a rider to adapt their riding skills from horse to horse while making it look like its easy, which, as we all know, is not the case.

Emma in the warmup ring, jumping one of just two warmup jumps allowed.

Straight into the arena with no warm up, the flat phase kicked off the first of the four days of National competition. The pool of horses came from all across the country providing nice rides. Flat was run more like entertainment for spectators; the serious and tense competition in the flat classes were balanced out with uplifting background music. The next day of competition came with the excitement and the precision of the jumping phase. Allowing the classic use of long approaches to show off a nice pace, with a mix of handy equitation bending lines and turns that tested the riders, my division was fun to ride.  With a collection of the top-pointing riders all over the US, the highest placing senior in each class received scholarship money. This was a unique characteristic of the competition, keeping one of the main focuses of the association inclusive of riding and education.

IEA volunteers and staff did a tactful job of keeping the entire competition running smoothly and on time (a rare case for horse shows). The competition lived up to the “southern hospitality” reputation and was very spectator friendly. Just having the opportunity to compete at nationals for the second time in a row was an incredible experience for me.

DEVON, Pa—Philip Richter returns to the Devon Horse Show to defend his championship on Glasgow in Amateur Owner Jumpers on Friday and Saturday, June 4 and 5.

The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, May 27 to June 6, benefits the Bryn Mawr Hospital, to which it has donated almost $14 million.

New footing in the Dixon Oval at Devon has been installed by Equestrian Services International, which has provided the footing for the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, and jumper riders are thrilled with it.

A Devon favorite is Laura Chapot, who has ridden the Open Jumper Champion for three of the past five years and has also been Leading Open Jumper Rider three of the past five years.

Chapot is bringing a new grand prix horse to Devon this year, Tsarin, a mare she got only recently in Europe.

Chapot is bringing three additional horses, Bradbury, Valentia and Chili Pepper as well as a couple of young horses for the Five-Year Old, Six-Year-Old and Seven/Eight-Year-Old sections which will compete Tuesday and Wednesday, June 1 and 2.

Open Jumpers compete Tuesday May 31 through Saturday, June 5.

Chapot is also bringing two students, Joy Slater and Madeline Cox, to compete in Amateur Owners and Barbara Rochford, who will ride in the Adult Jumper section on Memorial Day.

Richter qualified two horses to show in the Amateur Owner section, the returning champion Glasgow and Ray Ray.

Glasgow is a former grand prix jumper who was campaigned very successfully by Norman Dello Joio that Richter has been riding for three years.

“Riding Glasgow in High Amateurs is like taking a machine gun to a quail hunt,” said Richter. “He knows he’s so talented. He’s a real athlete and a real competitor, but he’s always a gentleman. He always tries to win.”

Richter, an equity owner in Hollow Brook, LLC, an investment management firm in New York City, shows very lightly due to his business obligations.

“I show at Old Salem and Devon, and I don’t show again until Lake Placid (two weeks at the end of June and beginning of July),” said Richter. “Then I don’t show again until the Hampton Classic (Labor Day weekend), and after that I’m done until Florida.”

“Mom (Judy Richter) and Norman have the horses set up, and I can just get on and go,” said Richter.

The Devon Horse Show has been honored with the United States Equestrian Federation’s designation as a USEF Heritage Competition.

An historic Pennsylvania equestrian event that has become a part of the fabric of the American horse show scene, Devon is only the fourth show to receive this honor.

Devon opens Thursday, May 27 with a full day of equitation in the Dixon Oval and pony breeding in the Gold Ring. Children 12 and under will be admitted free on opening day, courtesy of Hartstrings, a locally headquartered children’s clothing company.

Junior hunters and jumpers and ponies compete Friday and Saturday, and the Carriage Pleasure Drive opens a week of adult competition on Sunday, arriving at the Dixon Oval at 2 p.m, followed by Pony Jumpers Sunday evening.

Hunters compete Monday through Wednesday, with Side Saddle featured Wednesday afternoon, and Saddlebreds, harness ponies, fine harness, Friesians, roadsters and coaching begin Wednesday.

Breeding classes take over Thursday, followed by “Devon at Sunset” at 4:30, featuring the piece de resistance of the Devon Horse Show, the $100,000 Grand Prix at 8 p.m.

The Open Jumper’s Gambler’s Choice is Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., and the $50,000 Idle Dice Open Jumper Stake, followed by the awarding of the Championship and the Leading Rider title are the last classes Saturday evening, June 5.

The $25,000 Hunter Derby, competed for in a two round format, begins at 10 a.m., Sunday, June 6.

There will be a reining exhibition by Stacy Westfall on May 28-30, and the beloved Budweiser Clydesdales will perform in exhibition the last four evenings, Wednesday through Saturday, June 2-5.

The Country Fair has redesigned and rebuilt some of its most public spaces, including the Garden Café Pavilion, the Souvenir and the Candy booths, expanded the picnic grove and renovated the interior of the Art Gallery.

The Country Fair offers boutique shopping for sports wear, often appliquéd with a horse, dog or fox design, gorgeous hats, boots, beautiful gold and silver jewelry, again often with an equestrian design, paintings and prints, leather goods, collectibles and souvenirs.

Food to tempt any and all palates ranges from gourmet dining in the Garden Cafe to hot dogs and hamburgers and the famous Devon tea sandwiches, Devon fudge and lemon sticks.

Rides and games line the west end of the Fair and include the Ferris wheel, merry-go-round and all kinds of fun games with prizes.

For ticket information, call 610-688-2554. The ticket office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon. General admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and over.

Devon is also selling tickets through TicketLeap, but ticket packages and seats for the Grand Prix Thursday evening will not be sold over the internet in 2010.

For additional information visit www.devonhorseshow.org.

THREE EVENTS IN THE ROLEX GRAND SLAM OF EVENTING:
The Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing awards $350,000 to the Rider who can win the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in England the first weekend in May and the Burghley Land Rover Horse Trials in England the first of September in succession. In its 5th year in 2003, Pippa Funnell of Great Britain became the first Grand Slam winner with wins at Kentucky on Primmore’s Pride, Badminton on Supreme Rock, and Burghley on Primmore’s Pride, taking the $250,000 prize (the amount of prize money at the time) that most had thought impossible to win. When the next Grand Slam winner will burst onto the Eventing scene is anyone’s guess.

The Badminton Horse Trials begin this Friday in England. After his win at Rolex last weekend, all eyes will be on William Fox-Pitt to see if he can get one step closer to winning the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing.

(information courtesy of www.rk3de.org)