Hey EN, a quick note before today’s news:
On Saturday, July 18, two statements from British Eventing were posted informing us that two serious incidents had taken place at competitions — one at Swalcliffe in Oxfordshire and one at Penrith in Cumbria. Both events were abandoned for the remainder of the weekend, and live scores were removed from the scoring platform out of respect for those affected. The full statement released by British Eventing can be found here.
Following other losses in our sport, EN has undertaken the following protocol:
These incidents represent incredibly dark days within our sport. We understand that the news cycle is cruel, particularly in cases like this. To help keep the cycle from perpetuating in the light of such loss, EN will continue to publish stories and news on an as-needed/timely basis, but we will refrain from sharing these updates on our social media platforms for the next few days. We feel as powerless as anyone in these situations and feel that the least we can do is not move on lightly. We will also not speculate on the circumstances of the incidents, nor will we allow this to take place in the comments sections.
We also know that there’s a World Championship (two of them — one this weekend at Millstreet for U25 riders and one next month at Aachen for Seniors) right at our doorstep. We’ll be covering these events to honor our commitment to our sponsors as well as to continue to provide coverage of the sport’s key competitions. However, we hope you’ll understand that we don’t feel it appropriate to approach these with our usual happy hype. Our content will be quality, but out of respect to all of those we have lost, we hope to offer this as a time of reflection.
Our thoughts are with all of those affected by these losses and we work for a safe sport in everything we do. We thank you for your understanding.
Anyone affected is encouraged to seek support through the British Eventing Support Trust Helpline, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on 07780 008877.
____________________________________________________________________
One Big Thing: Mike Etherington-Smith Designs a World First
Mike Etherington-Smith at the Millstreet International Horse Trials. Photo provided by Millstreet.
In his 12th year as cross-country course-designer at Millstreet International, Mike Etherington-Smith now has the responsibility of producing the sport’s first ever FEI World Eventing Championship U25 track.
“The brief is not to make it too fierce because there will be a broad range of experience and expertise among riders,” Mike explains. “There are plenty of long routes but also some strong straight routes. To win it, you’ve got to jump.” He adds, “It is great that we have the interest for this first U25 championship, with riders crossing the world from the US and Australia and New Zealand, and we hope they will spread the word about what a superb place Millstreet is.”
Mike observes that the cross-country footing is “in amazing condition”. An enormous amount of work has taken place since the May horse trials, which was a wet one. “Thomas Duggan [owner of Millstreet] went out and invested in drainage equipment and, of course, now it’s been dry for weeks — in Ireland! So the team here at Millstreet have been doing a brilliant job aerovating and watering and we will be continuing right up to Saturday.”
Mike’s course-designing career includes two Olympic Games (2000 and 2008), plus a World Equestrian Games (2010) and three European Championships (2005, 2019, and 2021) as well as five-star courses at Kentucky, Adelaide, and Luhmuhlen, and next year’s European Championships at Avenches.
“It’s not only a great honour to be here, but Millstreet is a particularly fun event to be part of. It’s very well organised but also very friendly and relaxed and that’s how I like it.”
[Click here to learn more about the FEI Eventing World U25 Championships for U25 Riders]
Major International Events This Weekend
FEI Eventing World U25 Championships for U25 Riders & Millstreet International HT CCI4*-L (IRL): [Website] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Hamm-Rhynern International CCI4*-S (GER): [Website] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Live Stream]
US Events This Weekend
Millbrook HT (NY): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Live Stream]
Hunt Club Farms HT (VA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Other Links and Reading
Chewy Pick of the Day
This post contains affiliate links, and Eventing Nation earns a commission on qualifying purchases as part of Chewy’s ambassador program.
Fellow accident-prone-horse owners… this one’s for you.
My previous mare was next-level when it came to intentional injuries — if she could step on it, run into it, break it, or cut herself on it, she would sniff it out and promptly impale herself whenever and wherever possible. About a year into her monthly mishaps (the only thing she’d ever maintain clocklike-precision with), a barn friend introduced me to Silver Honey Rapid Skin Relief Maximum Strength Dry Horse Wound Care Spray to help with a particularly inconvenient leg laceration, and it worked like magic. Silver Honey stays on (even if rubbed with inquiring noses) and keeps a perfect moisture balance for lacerations and sores; whether they need to stay wet or they need to stay dry, this dry powder spray keeps the wound protected while it heals.
Training Tip of the Day
Did you know that there’s a physical component to repeated behaviors within your brain? The more a response is trained, the easier it is for a horse to find that pathway:
Go Eventing
Eventers go to Wimbledon… Who’s your pick?
