They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s just as well, because the greater the scandal, the briefer the utterance we get out of the FEI. I refer of course, to the hideous image of Splitters Creek Bundy perched on his shattered forelegs at the CEN in Abu Dhabi on January 31st, which the […]
I am really gratified to see how the German professional trainer’s association, the FN, and the German National Riding School have started to see the necessity of including a module on saddle fitting for their trainer certification programs. I hope that at some point the North American factions will also agree that the value of […]
Given the catastrophic issues raging in another equestrian sport, the Kiwi eventing community are lucky that the only thing apparently exercising them at the moment is whether or not Andrew Nicholson should be reinstated on the NZ performance squad, after an altercation in a very fraught situation that any other grown-ups would have sorted out […]
There are many opinions and theories on saddle fitting. Occasionally, we have even heard riders say “I have been using my saddle for x number of years. It fits me perfectly and fits every horse I use.” I have to really bite my tongue on that one, but usually just manage to smile and say […]
The first time I came to Welly World I thought the place was bananas. But since it’s grown to become the centre of the known equestrian winter universe, those early days feel quaint in comparison. And now they have eventing too! It’s kind of lame eventing, but still; it IS the last missing Olympic discipline […]
Here I sit in Toronto airport, red eyed and bushy tailed, half way to Welly World. There isn’t any quick and easy way to get from Vancouver diagonally across the continent to Florida; hence the dreaded overnight traverse. Wake me up, triple grande It promises to be a fine time in Welly World over the […]
The initials CSI can apply to both the official FEI abbreviation for an international jumping show, and the name of a global TV crime franchise.
In 1982, after qualifying for the European Championships I had to retire my beautiful Hanoverian gelding due to lameness, and my riding career came abruptly to an end. I wish I knew then what I have learned in the past 25 years as a Certified Master Saddler, consulting with equine professionals around the world. After placing in German […]
If anyone out there is genuinely surprised that Ingmar De V. has been elected FEI Prez, please raise your hand. No one? I didn’t think so. I mean, really. There could have been no other outcome. As I read the FEI press release announcing Ingmar’s victory, I had a strange sense of déjà vu. Where […]
Good BYE 2014. Don’t let the door hit your backside on the way out. I grudgingly invite you to rest in peace. Certainly you left me in pieces. What a year that was. And it just didn’t let up right to the very end. On December 13 we packed up the van and the dog […]
