United States Eventing Association

Eventing Advent Calendar: Day 7

The USEA crew has just arrived in Phoenix for the Annual Meeting & Convention, and let me tell you, this hotel is fantastic! I think the Convention attendees are going to absolutely love it. And of course, for those of you who weren’t able to attend the Meeting this year, we’ll be bringing you plenty of meeting coverage, photos, videos, and interviews throughout the weekend. More on that tomorrow! For now, I have a very short little tidbit for you all today…

2010 USEA Lady Rider of the Year and popular coach Sally Cousins has been doing a few interesting training blogs for Eventing Nation.

We often see Sally juggling rides on several of her top horses – wonder how she does it? Check out this piece…

Scheduling Multiple Rides in a Morning – Sally’s insight into how she makes her hectic schedule work is fascinating…and here’s the best part: “Thank you to all the riders out there who so kindly let me go before them. I am aware that my scheduling problem does not have to be yours!” What a class act!

Walking the Show Jumping; - There are so many things to think about when walking your show jumping course – the footing, the start/finish flags, etc…and that’s not even counting the actual jumps! Here, Sally shares her typical show jumping course walk ritual and thought processes.

Walking the Cross-Country – The opening paragraph of this piece made me realize the type of horseman Sally is – thoughtful, smart, and realistic: “When I get ready to walk the cross country course, I try to keep in mind what my goals are for that event. If the horse is green at the level or just moving up, I would likely be pleased with a confident ride. If I need a clear round for qualification purposes, I might play it a little "safe" even if that means I might not place well. If I have had some troubles in my training recently, it might cause me to change my plan and possibly take an option.” It’s all about perspective. Great read!