Happy Thursday to you — here’s a quick update to catch you up on the news of the day:
One Big Thing: Goodbye (Too Soon) to Colleen Loach’s Vermont
Canadian Olympian Colleen Loach shared the sad news yesterday that Vermont (owned by Peter Barry), a 4* horse Colleen produced for an international eventing career that spanned over six years and nearly 30 FEI competitions. “Monty” first caught Colleen’s eye as a 4-year-old, and though he would grow to be a towering 18.2 hands (which made for some great humor when you saw Colleen with both FE Golden Eye, who’s much smaller, and Vermont at a show — see below!), his heart was just as big. When Vermont was 10, he was named to the Canadian squad heading for FEI World Championships in 2022, but sustained a minor injury that sidelined him from competing. Nonetheless, he became a stalwart in Colleen’s string, and while we hadn’t seen him out eventing for awhile he was always a presence we missed at the shows.
“Dear Monty, you were the wind beneath my wings on so many occasions,” Colleen wrote in a post on social media yesterday. “You could be difficult at times but you remained the most enjoyable horse to ride every day. I’m so sorry that you were taken away far too soon … but you will live on the memories of those of us who loved and cared for you, those of us who were fortunate enough to be part of your shining circle. Rest in peace.”
Vermont was just 14 at the time of his passing, and while the circumstances have not been shared publicly, it’s no less difficult to lose a horse at any time but especially far too soon. We’re sending all of our love to Colleen, Peter and the team that cared for and loved Monty from day one.
Enjoy a few more photos from Colleen and Vermont’s partnership:
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U.S. Events This Weekend
Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks (FL): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]
Other Links & Reading
Mini Classifieds
We’re kicking off 2026 with a new feature: mini-classifieds! If you have something to sell or promote, consider this your space to get right in front of an audience within your target market. Listings cost just $5, or you can purchase 3-5 days of mentions here in News & Notes at a bulk discount.
Please note: horses for sale MUST be listed on our partner site, Sport Horse Nation. We will not accept horse listings here, but we can feature your Sport Horse Nation listing! This space should be used for promoting events, fundraisers, clinics, job openings, tack sales and other events.
Have questions? Email [email protected]. If you want to purchase your listing, click here.
You may also see some links from our sponsors and partners in this section, but they’ll always be labeled as sponsored if applicable.
Our first batch of listings will launch next Monday — be sure to get them in if you want to be included in our early runs!
Training Tip of the Day
Elisa Wallace is currently working with a new mustang, and we found this vlog to be full of education — even if you’re not working with a mustang:
Go Eventing
Not sure the end of school break gets any better than this…
