It’s a pretty big deal
Image courtesy of Vaterland.li
Skye and Nina looked fabulous
The Powers sisters, no surprise to anyone, looked fabulous
Taxicab and Abby rocked it out
Troy and Anastasia guided George and Maaaaaavelous beautifully, as expected.
Troy kicked ass on both Jasper…
…and George
Abby and Taxicab got 6th
and Anastasia and Maaaaaaarvelous were. Get it?
Saturday, July 28
Individual and team eventing dressage: 1:45 pm. – 2:45 pm. (NBC Sports Network)
Sunday, July 29
Individual and team eventing dressage: 2:15 pm. – 3:00 pm. (NBC Sports Network)
Monday, July 30
Individual and team eventing – Cross Country (LIVE): 8:15 am. – 12:45 pm. (NBC Sports Network)
Tuesday, July 31
Eventing – Team Jumping final (LIVE): 6:00 am. – 8:15 am. (NBC Sports Network)
Eventing – Individual Jumping final (LIVE): 9:15 am. – 10:30 am.
As an equestrian, I have to wonder what kind of horse sports ESPN is supporting with their recent choice to profile the Chilcotin Nation’s downhill race. In the wake of plenty of other horse sports shunned by the Humane Society of the United States, America’s ‘Suicide Race’ phenomenon is among one of many that are quite unsavory to watch. It seems the ESPN loves writing about speed, speed, and speed when it comes to horse sports, but doesn’t seem to care much for tactical merit and adrenaline rush of show jumping or cross-country (I genuinely understand that dressage would be too slow). In a recent article, the tagline reads, “Mountain racing riders only know one way to go: all out” but what exactly is meant by “all out”?
Although not as steep as the famed (and feared) Omak suicide races, the horses are still galloped top-speed down rocky hills that are awe-inspiringly steep and quite precarious. The race, exactly like the Omak suicide race, involves galloping in and out of a body of water, and a lot flat gallop home over even terrain. So is this race comparable? Unlike the Omak, this race is only run with 4 horses (the Omaha is run with more than 10). Additionally, the inclined running space is remains the same width and incline for the entire ‘mountain’ portion of the race. I’m not actually sure how deep the water is where the Redstone Stampede mountain race is run, so I cannot speak to that, however there is no “chute” that racers must funnel through and the race is only held once a year (rather than 3 nights in a row). You’ve seen the Redstone stampede, now here is what the Omaha suicide race looks like:
Crackers would also love to know what you think!
Frankel. Image courtesy of Dear Racing Fans.
Black Caviar. Image courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald.
In the April 7th Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Zone 4 Championships (the equivalent of conference championships for equestrian), the Goucher College equestrian team finished first with 45 points overall ahead of St. Andrews’ 43 points, Bridgewater’s 34 points, and University of Delaware’s 30 points.
The full 2011-2012 Equestrian Team. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Kellogg.
Making a bid for nationals, selected riders will represent the team as a whole as the official ‘zone’ team. Several individuals who have qualified for this event will also represent their college as individuals.
Goucher will be facing off against Bridgewater College, St. Andrews University, and University of Delaware as a team, but those riding as individuals will also face tough competition from other individuals from schools in the region like Sweet Briar College, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University.
The competition will begin at 10 AM, and will be held at the Goucher College stables (this link will take you to a campus map)
Unbridled 