And just like that the spring season was gone . . .
All the plans.
All the excitement.
All the goals. The calendar now has scratch marks on the days we were meant to travel and nothing more for the rest of the season can be filled in yet.
So here we sit – watching the news, looking at maps, happy we don’t live in the worst hit areas and empathizing with the people that do.
What to do now? We need to keep this glass half full.
Some barns are open and some are shut – hopefully we respect the farm owner’s wishes and take care of fellow boarders and ourselves and take all precautions.
If you are riding, this is a great time to practice the basics. How round can you make that circle? How straight can you get to the jump AND go away from it? How long can you go without stirrups? It’s also a great time to get outside as the weather gets better and go for a long walk. We have to remember that it is still five weeks (at best case scenario) before any horse goes out the start box. We need to pace ourselves – this virus, unfortunately, is a marathon, not a sprint.
Some have chosen this time to give their horses some time off. The crews that are lucky enough to be in California or South Carolina or Georgia or Florida have already had a mini season. These horses have earned a bit of downtime.
Some people have made the decision not to ride. Riding is dangerous and if we do fall off that could take up another hospital bed for someone that is sick, but those horses still need care and movement and turnout.
What is important for ANY of these horses is to make sure when the end is in sight, we are ready to roll. Horses and riders are fit enough, shoes are on schedule, vaccines are done, teeth are floated, trailers are checked, we have practiced, we start back at the right level, and we can do our best for our horses to be successful.
We can make the most of this mini break – without competition we now have time, if we choose, to tidy up all the details and be more than ready when we hear “3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . have a great ride!”
COVID-19 Updates from USEA
The final day of competition at the the Yanmar America Tryon International Spring Three-Day Event presented by Tow & Collect crowned five new champions, featuring show jumping competition in Tryon Stadium and the final rounds of cross-country competition on the White Oak cross-country course at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (Tryon International). Read more below.
At last fall's Full Moon Farm Horse Trials, 16-year-old Miriam Keefer guided her horse, Micky, over the final cross-country jump with quiet determination and a flash of joy. It was her first recognized event at the Novice level, and she placed second out of 16 competitors—qualifying her for both the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds and a long-format three-day event.
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo were pure class in the final, tense moments of the MARS Badminton Horse Trials, jumping faultlessly to regain the title they won two years ago by just 1 penalty.
Day 3 of competition at the Yanmar America Tryon International Spring Three-Day Event presented by Tow & Collect showcased Clayton Frederick’s course design at the picturesque White Oak Cross-country course at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (Tryon International). The leaderboard of the CCI4*-L division saw a shakeup after two phases of competition.