In the midst of the hustle and bustle of a 500-entry event at Virginia International Horse Trials, co-organizer Angela Bowles took time to celebrate and reflect on the lengthy and impactful career of her longtime partner, Novelle (Frist Me Now x Teetawk). After 14 years eventing, Novelle has been officially retired from competition.
“It was a hard decision to retire Novelle from competition as she has far from lost the fire to compete. But as the stewards of these wonderful horses, it is our duty and privilege to make sure that we care for them in the twilight of their careers,” Bowles said.
“I can’t put into words what she has meant to me and so many others. Novelle was the horse that no one believed in as a racehorse, so much so that she was given to me. I feel like no one expected great things of her, or of me – a small town girl from nowhere Texas.”
The now 20-year-old off-track Thoroughbred mare had a storied career. Together, Bowles and Novelle contested the Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5* in 2015 and 2016. Novelle also finished second in a jumping grand prix, competed in 22 FEI events, and earned 2010 USEA Preliminary Horse of the Year. She had 10 wins and finished in the top ten 88% of the time. She also jumped clear in show jumping 83% of the time.
“Novelle always kept me safe, she kept me humble, she showed me the world of upper-level eventing, she taught me, she made me feel like there was no jump too big or too hard. I owe my entire riding career to this horse,” Bowles said.
After stepping down from the upper-levels of the sport, Novelle showed several riders the ropes around the lower levels, from Beginner Novice to CCI2*-L. Novelle’s USEA record spans seven pages. In total, she finished a remarkable 113 USEA events with 10 different riders.
“It is obvious all the things that Novelle did for my career, but not reflective of what truly makes Novelle special,” Bowles said. “What she has done that is the most special is show such a variety of riders how to have confidence and love of the sport. To watch riders who previously had confidence issues or were suffering the loss of their horses be re-ignited in the sport solely because of this diminutive mare means more to me than I can ever express. Thank you Novelle, for keeping us all safe and always giving your absolute all.”
Happy retirement, Novelle.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
When super groom Max Corcoran mentioned in 2005 that it would be fun to participate in a USEA Classic Series event, her employer and eventing legend Karen O’Connor took that to heart. “I did a lot of grooming for the classic format when Kentucky and all those other competitions were proper long format,” Corcoran shared. “When Gretchen [Butts] started offering the Classic Series at Waredaca [Gaithersburg, Maryland,] she asked if I would come up and do some lectures to help people understand what the 10-minute box was and how to pack for it. I did that a few times and said to Karen, ‘Man, it would be so fun to do one of these.’ And so Karen's like, 'You want to do one? Yeah, you're gonna do one next year.'”
Has this horse quality? The answer is definitely yes. This first impression is so important. As a selector for the Goresbridge Go for Gold Event horse sale, I have an abbreviation ‘GPO’ which stands for "Good Pull Out." It means that the first look prompts the potential client the need to bring the horse out of his box for a further look.
It was a beautiful but chilly weekend in the pines at the Setters' Run Farm Carolina International. After a record-setting 19.4 in the CCI4*-S dressage, Will Coleman became the first three-time winner in the event's history when he led from start to finish on Hyperion Stud's Chin Tonic HS.