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.
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.
Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.