United States Eventing Association

In our first preview of this year's Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships, Buck Davidson reflects on his win in 2014 and how the AEC's fit into his calendar. He also has advice on shipping horses long distances. Rob Burk COO, talks about plans for this year's event which takes place in the Texas Rose Horse Park, Tyler, TX September 24-27th. For more information visit: http://useventing.com/aec/.

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Chris Stafford: This is the United States Eventing Association's Official Podcast. Hello and welcome to the program. I'm Chris Stafford. On this week's show, we begin our lead-up to the 2015 American Eventing Championships. We'll hear from Buck Davidson as he reflects on his win last year, but first, Rob Burk, the USEA Chief Operating Officer, offers a preview of what's being planned for the event at the Texas Rose Horse Park in September. The summer flies by, doesn't it, leading up to the AEC. What's in store for us this year?

Rob Burk: Last year, we had a lot of success at the 2014 AEC. A lot went right, and very, very little from an internal working standpoint went wrong. We're very happy with how it went, and so running into this year, we've got a really good framework for how to run this year's event, but we're talking about adding to it. Mostly, the additions are going to be some updates to the cross country course, Captain Mark Phillips is, again, back and designing for us, and has already laid out the track. This year, our crew is actually going to get out there even earlier than they were last year, so we're excited about some of the surprises that will be in for our writers this year. Aside from that, entertainment-wise, we've got some really good ideas to go along with what we've done in the past.

I know that the pro group will be back doing course walks for our riders. Those are open to the public, so anyone who wants to come and have a walk with some of the top riders in the entire sport can come do that. We'll have entertainment every single night with parties that range from young rider pizza parties to dog show to adult rider socials to our welcome party and our kind of large competitor's party bash with live bands and we will be bringing back our bullriding tournament that was really popular last year, and our trade fair has only gotten bigger every year complete with a beer garden, so we're extremely excited about this year and it looks like this is going to be our last year in Texas, at least for the near future. We really want to go out with a bang in Texas and do it right.

Chris Stafford: No doubt you will, because, as you say, you do tailor it, don't you, with the parties and everything, you theme them, to the local culture.

Rob Burk: We do, absolutely. Especially with the music, the food, and kind of the décor. It really is Texas on top of just red, white, and blue. The good thing about that is that the American Eventing Championships, the color theme can be red, white, and blue and Texas state colors are red, white, and blue, so it makes it easy.

Chris Stafford: All right. That's back at the Texas Rose Horse Park, as you said, in Tyler, Texas. September 24th to the 27th, then, this year, Rob.

Rob Burk: That's right. Yeah. Welcoming party is on Wednesday the 23rd, and the event runs from the 24th to the 27th.

Chris Stafford: We should remind everybody if they're not familiar with these championships, that there is something at all levels from beginning novice all the way to advanced, and it draws on people making that long trip all over the country, doesn't it, Rob? That's the great thing about it. It's something like a festival, isn't it, really, in that sense?

Rob Burk: Yeah, it really is. We've had representation over the last couple of years. I think last year, we had 36 different states represented. We had folks from every corner of the country. That's one of the neat things about being in the center of the country, we get to see where in the past, with some of our East Coast-run AECs, we don't see as many of our West Coasters, but at the AEC in Texas, we've seen great representation. I only expect that number to grow this year.

Chris Stafford: You'll be bringing us updates, won't you, as we closer to that date?

Rob Burk: Absolutely. We've got some really good awards coming back that I know we'll update you on throughout the year, and any new additions we have coming on. Of course, we couldn't do any of this without our sponsors. We have an amazing rosters of sponsors, which people can view online as USEventing.com/AEC.

Chris Stafford: Right. I did want to mention those, of course, because the title sponsor is Nutrena, again, isn't it?

Rob Burk: It is. Yeah. Nutrena is back onboard with us, and our Adequan Gold Cup Championship is, of course, is sponsored by Adequan. Yep. Again, I think we have something in the neighborhood of 40 different sponsors that have all, they've given, whether it be product, financial support, they've really stepped up to make this ... Everyone who places, especially in the top 10 at AEC, will walk away with a hall of goodies thanks to our amazing sponsors. It's one of the most memorable things is the fact that just about everybody who gets a prize has to walk out with a golf cart load of things.

Chris Stafford: Yeah. That's the great thing about the family of sponsors that you have there. There are so many different products that they very kindly offer, as well. We should mention the presenting sponsor, again, is VTO Saddlery, isn't it?

Rob Burk: Yeah. We're excited to have VTO come back for the third year in a row, and they've also stepped up and they've been hosting our young rider party, and it's been a lot of fun.

Chris Stafford: Yes. As you said, the full list of all those sponsors who very kindly and generously given up their time and products and support financially to the AEC. They're all on the website where you can find more information, of course, about the event as it unfolds and the preparation and Rob, we'll catch up with you, as I said, nearer the time, to give us updates as to what we can expect, but we do know it's going to be a festival of fun and sport that week.

Rob Burk: It will. We'll expect entries to start rolling in on August the 11th, and yeah, and then we'll be able to really knock it out of the park this year.

Chris Stafford: Yes. It will be here before we know it. We're going to hear from Buck Davidson who, of course, was a big winner last year, and we'll get some advice from him. Also, on his shipping protocols, as well, when you're traveling those long distances. All important, Rob, so we'll be featuring little things like this along the way through the summer, as people prepare to visit the AECs this year.

Rob Burk: Great. Thank you so much for doing this, Chris.

Chris Stafford: Now, Buck Davidson joins us to share his thoughts on the event. Buck, welcome back to the program.

Buck Davidson: Thanks, Chris.

Chris Stafford: You'll reflect on last year with a smile on your face, I'm sure, winning with the home Petite Flower. Just reflect on that for us a little bit, Buck, if you would, and really, what that meant to you and to her in her career.

Buck Davidson: I think to win any advance, that's a feather in any horse's cap. Of course, to win the American Eventing Championships is a big deal, and there's a lot of prize money, and obviously, that helps as far as the owners are happy, it helps keep the horse going down the road, and Mark set up a nice course there, and I think it was a really good experience to Flower, and I had a nice ride on Quasar in the intermediate. I was second there. It was a good weekend and hopefully, we can repeat that again this year.

Chris Stafford: Absolutely. Do you think you will take the Mare back again this time, Buck?

Buck Davidson: I don't know if it will be Flower this year. I hope that I'll have something or a couple to go there. I'm not sure if Flower will go back. She went very well in Kentucky, and so I will just see, but she could be. You need a horse that's quick there, you obviously need a good show jumper, and she is both of those things. It's a long way to travel, so we wouldn't go with something that was less than very good, and I'm just not sure right at the moment which horse that will be.

Chris Stafford: You mentioned, though, it is a long trip for anyone to go out to Texas for the championships, but clearly, you've made it worth your while, not only bringing back the blue ribbon, but in terms of the making the effort, to put it into your schedule, Buck, and you talked about there, the specifics of what those courses require. Talk a little bit more about that, Buck, because clearly, that defines which horses you select to go and make that trip.

Buck Davidson: First and foremost as a person that does this for my career, we're always talking about having more sponsorships and prize money and stuff like that. When Adequan can put that kind of money, I think really need to reward them and thank them by showing up and so that was sort of my reasoning for going, as much as anything, yes it's a little bit of an inconvenience, but just wanted to show my appreciation and thanks to the people that do so much for our sport. In saying that, I have to do the right thing by the people that own the horses for me, and it's a big financial commitment to go to Texas, and so I need to make it worth their while, and the horses that can be successful and thankfully, last year, Flower and Quasar were both very successful, and that's important to me any time you put a horse on that long of a trip, you go with a purpose and you don't just go to take part, you go to win.

That will be definitely, in the future, something what I think about, but I also want to know or want the sponsors to know that I really appreciate what they do for us and just a little thank you is just to go and show up and try to do the best we can possibly do.

Chris Stafford: Of course, one of the things you'll want to take away from every competition is that horse's confidence to continue their career. You look at those tracks, you look at the requirements on the day, and coming into that competition, you know the form of that horse. What would you say you took away from there that was helpful for this particular horse, Caroline Martin's Petite Flower last year, Buck?

Buck Davidson: I think it's a very good course, it's a course that it's not the hardest advanced or the hardest intermediate that we'll do all year, but it has a little bit of everything. It has the ditches, it has the corners, it has triple brushes, whatever. They can be taking an easier, softer line to them, but if you want to be competitive and you want to try to win, you got to take some chances and jump across some of the corners and stuff like that. I think he's done a good job in making it a course that everybody can be successful at to whatever degree they choose. If you choose to give your horse a nice educational round, you can do that, and if you have one like I was lucky enough to have in Flower last year, that had a bit of experience that I could take a little bit more chance and take on some of the corners a little bit more acute angles and things like that, and push myself and push her, and fortunately enough, it worked out.

I think that it's certainly no secret that she hasn't been super reliable, but I think that was maybe the start of her getting reliable, and hopefully we'll be better. I know we've been better this year and hopefully we'll continue to grow into next year.

Chris Stafford: You mentioned the trip because that's something to prepare for, as well, because you want the horses to arrive in peak condition and not lose anything in the journey. For the benefit of our wider audience here, a lot of the amateurs who are thinking they'll make their trip to the AECs perhaps for the first time and they're going to have a long road trip. Give us some tips, if you would, about preparing the horse for that kind of journey and do you stop over? Do you rest in any way or do you drive straight through? Give us an idea of what that looks like for you and your team.

Buck Davidson: For me and my horses, I think it's about a 30-hour drive, roughly. It's very important that my horses have a lot of air in the trailer. The most dangerous situation for a horse is for them to get overheated. I put them in big stalls and I open up all the windows, and they have lots of air going through. I think it's easier for the horse to go straight through. I'm fortunate to have a truck that has living in it, and so I put two drivers in it and they just switch back and forth, and we hung water buckets and hay nets, and drove and tried to do the worst part of the where it will be the hottest in the evening and in the night, and if it got unbearable or whatever, as we went and stopped for gas and things like that, we took the horses' temperatures and paid attention to how much water they drank and how much hay they've eaten, and they arrived early so they could settle in and I took the temperatures three times a day to make sure that nobody had any fevers or anything like that, monitored all their drinking and eating, and I've slowed down a couple of days later and they were ready to go.

I just gave them a couple of easy days once they first arrive and let them hack and eat grass and they were all both my horses and Andrea's horse felt just like it was any other event. I think you just want to make sure you just monitor the horses the way you normally do and make sure that the temperatures and everything looks right and they'll be fine.

Chris Stafford: You mentioned you hang water buckets for them so that they can drink and live on the whole journey.

Buck Davidson: Yeah. I just think that if you only give them water when you stop, it's almost like you're forcing them to drink. As we all know when we're driving cars, it's not like we just get to drink and then we drink it all down and then it's gone. You kind of put it in the cupholder and you drink a little bit, you [inaudible 00:15:40] you might not touch it for a couple of hours and you need another sip. I think the horses are exactly the same. If I can make it so that I just hang the water up and they can drink when they choose, then I think it's better for them.

Chris Stafford: How about electrolytes. Do you advocate using electrolytes for the travel, Buck?

Buck Davidson: I do. I feed my houses a supplement called Total Control, which is a Fine Line product that has electrolytes in it, and I put that in there feed, and before they go, and then once they arrive there, I don't actually give them hard feed as they're shipping. I just think that can be risky and that they can eat all the hay they want. We had absolutely no problem, and then once they went back on to their hard feed when they arrived there, they got their Total Control and had the electrolytes and all their supplements in it, and they performed as good or better than they normally do.

Chris Stafford: Would they have their own hay throughout the competition, Buck, or just for the journey?

Buck Davidson: No. They would have their own hay. I will pack all of my own hay, I will take all my own feed. I want to keep everything as close to what we do at home in Texas as we would in Pennsylvania. The horses have no change. The only difference is they're in a different state. They have a big, nice trailer to drive in, just like going to another horse show for them.

Chris Stafford: Would they work the day before you leave, Buck, or is that an easy day or is it a work day for them?

Buck Davidson: Yeah. No. I would tend to work them the day they left, but I would try not to get them all hot and sweaty. I would definitely, again, try to keep them as much in their routine as they're used to, and I would generally work the horses before they got on the truck to go to an event, but I would, again, sort of be a be sympathetic that they're about to take a big trip, and I wouldn't want them to lose a lot of sweat or whatever. I'll give you a nice, I call it a massage dressage and they just sort of stretch them and relax them, and soften them up, but not push on them too hard. Again, like I said, try to keep everything as close to what they normally do as possible.

Chris Stafford: When they come off the trailer the other end, then, Buck, do they get to go for a walk no matter what time of day or night they arrive? They get a walk, do they, before they go in the store?

Buck Davidson: Their stalls are set up and hay and water will be put in. I'd probably put them in the stalls for a in or so because they're probably going to have a roll so make sure that the stalls are well bedded and the banks are up so that if they do roll, they don't get cast. Just let them take a deep breath for a second and then take it out for a hand raise and probably give them a bath, and then put them back in their stalls and let them maybe eat a little bit of food, and then probably give them an hour or two, and then take them out for another half an hour hand graze, and let them just relax again, maybe give them another bath or a brush or whatever, and in the evening, then you probably put them for the night and the next day they're ready to go.

Chris Stafford: Right. Clearly, you monitor the droppings and whether they're stale during the journey. Do you find that they do, Buck? Is that a concern that the liquid intake is enough so that when they get off, they probably go in the store and want to stay out pretty soon, anyway, do they?

Buck Davidson: Yeah. Like I said, you just want to monitor everything with the horse. If their manure is hard or soft, if that's not normal for them, then you need to make a mental note of it. If I know a horse is notoriously not a good drinker or whatever, I would certainly not be afraid to give them fluids before they left or fluids when they arrive. That's a very easy, safe thing to do, and the one thing about it is if they don't need the fluids, all they're going to do is pee them out. If they do need them, then they're there. Certainly, like the horse like Reggie, before he gets on the truck, he always gets fluids. It's just kind of part of his deal.

If I was worried about it or if I was coming from a really hot climate or I knew that it was going to be really hot in Texas or whatever, then I might give them some fluids before they got on the truck, and when I got there, if I felt like they were dehydrated, I'd get the vet to give them fluids once they got there.

Chris Stafford: Right. What about carrots and apples, Buck? Is that something you let them have? I know a lot of people do think, "That's harmless, they enjoy it, it's just liquids, after all, mostly water content." Is that something you let them have during a journey or not?

Buck Davidson: I'm not really too worried about that. If you want to give them an apple or carrot, I'm sure it's probably fine, but I would rather just have the horse eat his hay, eat his water, drink his water, and I guess I don't really feed them apples and carrots going to a normal event, so I tend probably not do it. Once I get to the show, then I give them some apples or carrots or something to make them, if they're a little bit fussy about eating or whatever, I would give them something to make it more enticing to them.

I would also, when I fed them the first few times, I wouldn't give them all their feed at one time. I would just give them little bits. First of all, horses, if you throw too much feed at them, they tend to push it away. At the same time, if they're overly hungry, you don't want them to just stuff down the food too fast. I would tend to give them, put their heart feed back in a little bit slowly, and over four or five feedings rather than three.

Chris Stafford: Finally, then, Buck. Just tell us what you use for clothing for them. Do you put anything on their back and what about their legs? Just standard wraps? Do they have a pole guard? Give us an idea of what you expect them to travel in.

Buck Davidson: I would definitely, not dress them in the summer, and like I said, the most dangerous situation for a horse is when they get overheated on a trailer. I certainly would not give them, I certainly would not put any clothing on them. I do, for a long trip like that, I would put shipping boots on. I wouldn't put wraps because I hate when they twist and every time that the trailer stops to get gas or whatever, the horses we check to make sure the boots were in the right place. One thing I don't do on the long trips, I don't put tail wraps because, over that long a time, if the pressure is too tight on the tailwrap, the horse can actually lose his tail, and if it's too loose, it's just going to fall off anyway.

Over that long a trip, I actually don't put on tail wraps, so that's probably the only thing that's different from a regular trip for them. If it's sort of over 10 hours or so, I really don't put tail wraps on them. That's really the only difference.

Chris Stafford: All right. Obviously, a trip that's worthwhile for you and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Texas Rose Horse Park this summer. Buck and obviously, you'll be wanting to pick up that blue ribbon again, as competitive as ever, so we'll have to watch out for which horses you bring.

Buck Davidson: Exactly. Hopefully there is a couple in there that want to go and win the blue ribbon, but more importantly, win the check.

Chris Stafford: All right. Make it well worthwhile. Pay for that gas. All right, Buck. Thank you very much, indeed, for coming on the program and the best of luck at the AECs this year.

Buck Davidson: All right. Thanks, Chris.

Chris Stafford: Don't forget to check the website at USEventing.com for regular updates about the events. Whilst you're there, you can keep up to date with the latest horse and rider rankings, too, as well as all the very latest news on the website at USEventing.com. This podcast is available as a free subscription in the iTunes podcast store. Just look for USEA and download the podcast to your smartphone or tablet at such [inaudible 00:24:23] or Stitcher. Until the next time, thanks for listening wherever you are in the world, and enjoy your eventing.