I was extremely distracted this morning with watching the Olympic eventing showjumping (oh my god what a finish) but we’ll talk about my thoughts on all that tomorrow. Since I’m now crunched for time today I figured we’d do a quick Mina update on how she’s been settling in!

She’s been with me for two weeks now, and really she’s settled in quite well. She’s got some quirks, for sure, but she’s a super super sweet dog that really just wants more than anything else to be loved. She hasn’t done anything truly wrong at all – no accidents in the house, no attempted escapes, no chewing, etc. Mina does get a little overstimulated sometimes still and her ability to listen sort of goes out the window, but that’s fair. She’s been an apartment dog her whole life and coming to a farm is quite literally a whole new world.

At first she was quite horrified by the horses (she can see them out the living room window) and the neighbor’s cows (she can see them from the porch) but she doesn’t bark at them anymore, she mostly just watches them. She learned pretty quickly that she’s not allowed to duck under our yard’s fence to go into the horse pastures, thank goodness. One on one she’s definitely intimidated by them, but shows zero inclination to want to chase them or be aggressive, she mostly just goes to her default behavior when she’s worried or excited – flopping over onto her back. If she wants to stay wary of them, that’s fine by me, because a few of these horses will for sure chase her if she gets too bold.

She’s already earned a nickname, Beans, which I use much more frequently than her actual name. It started at Mina, morphed to Meens, then to Meens Beans, and now it’s pretty much just Beans or Jelly Beans or Jumping Beans (although I was astonished to find out just how many different types of beans I could think of, once I started listing them off at her one day). That’s how you know they’re officially part of the family I guess, when you rarely use their real name anymore.

When I go down to the barn in the morning to ride she dutifully sits on the couch and stares out the window, watching us do all the morning chores and rides from afar. When I walk back to the house I can see her through the window, nose pressed up against it. That whole window is just constantly covered in noseprints, it’s pretty cute. She doesn’t panic when I leave though, which is definitely nice. I was a little worried how she’d be about that having had a shelter experience times two. She just dutifully goes to the couch to wait, though.

She’s a pretty energetic and active dog too, she likes to go outside every few hours and chase her ball around or run zoomies around the yard, or go down to the barn with me to feed or throw hay. Her recall has gotten a lot better already, she does come when I call her (usually the first time but not always) and is better about not zooming ahead quite so much. That’s a work in progress, but I’m definitely not worried about her trying to bolt or escape. She’s more likely to chase me down than vice versa.

Really she’s proving to be a great dog so far, and having her here has definitely helped me cope with the back to back losses of Stewie and Quinn. She makes me laugh every day, that’s for sure.

Last week’s Foal Friday was all about Obi and Patrick’s relationship, which is largely centered around their games of Bitey Face. Colts just gotta colt, and biting each other is what they do best. While those Bitey Face games are about the limit of Patrick’s rambunctiousness, it’s certainly not the only thing Obi is interested in. It took him a little while to come out of his shell, but I think Obi is now making up for it, because he is one rowdy and bold little dude. Of course, Pippa and Patrick (who are both fairly dignified) aren’t that interested in taking part in all of his games. You know who’s always up for a little chaos and mayhem though?

Mostly they chase each other around a lot, because that’s Teddy’s most favorite activity in the world. Nobody tell her she isn’t a racehorse.

She’s like Obi’s very own personal trainer, which is probably a good thing because, uh… he’s kind of a chub.

In between all the zoomies (and there are A LOT of zoomies) they also tend to have a sixth sense for finding trouble. Largely, I think, because Teddy’s pony DNA works like a GPS tracking system for Trouble, and she’s always drawn right to it. Obi feeds off of Teddy’s boldness and curiousity, for sure, and I think she’s helped him blossom and be more confident.

Admittedly every once in a while Obi forgets his place and brings his chompers to the zoomies party…

Luckily Teddy is pretty forgiving, and she usually just reprimands him by taking him for another few laps of the pasture. She’s already figured out that tired colts are better colts. Who run the world? Pony mares.

Happy Friday everyone!

Admittedly I always have mixed feelings about the Olympics when it comes to eventing, mostly because it isn’t the top level of our sport. Indeed, most of the horses and a large portion of the riders in the field have never contested a 5*. BUT, there’s definitely an aspect to it that is special, like getting to see more diversity than we usually do in these top level competitions – so many different countries, different people, and a slightly more diverse field of horses as well (we don’t often see horses bred in Russia or Spain or Poland!). So let’s look a little more closely at the horses in the 2021 Tokyo field, shall we?

Before we start, to clarify: these stats include only the 3 starting horses for each team and the starting individuals, not any of the reserves, except for a couple brief mentions where I will make it clear that it’s a reserve horse that I’m talking about. Basically, if it has a dressage ride time, it’s included in these statements, if it doesn’t, it’s not. (note: I have updated to reflect the last minute changes to Team Australia and Team Ireland)

Alright, let’s roll.

Let’s start off easy: of all the entered horses, more than half of the field was born in one of these three countries: Germany, France, or Ireland. 16 horses in the field were bred in Germany, 15 were bred in France, and 11 were bred in Ireland (8 registered ISH, 2 registered SHBGB, one TB). Of note: out of the 8 registered as Irish Sporthorse, 2 are of traditional ISH breeding – the rest are part or full continental WB (usually Holsteiner or Selle Francais).

We are used to seeing at least a handful of full thoroughbreds at any top level event, but in Tokyo there is only one lone full TB in the field, Glenfly, who is an Irish-bred thoroughbred that competed unsuccessfully in national hunt races. However, even with only one full thoroughbred there is still a lot of blood present in this field. There are 4 horses by a full TB stallion (these stallions are Ostermond xx, Presenting xx, Albaran xx, and Seigneur D’alleray xx) and 5 horses out of a full TB mare. Additionally there is also a lot of French AngloArab blood present, with one horse registered AA, 1 horse by full french AA sire, and 4 out of full AA mare.

The average blood percentage among all the entrants (again: calculating only the starters, not the reserves, and tossing out the handful of horses that have an incomplete pedigree) is 55%. The horse with the lowest blood percentage comes in at 22%, with the highest being 100%. If we toss the full TB, the next highest is 90%. This average is pretty on par with what we see at most 4* and 5* level events.

Moving on to the sire’s side of things, the most represented sire is Holsteiner stallion Contender, who is seen within the first 3 generations of 7 horses, 3 via his son Contendro. Selle Francais stallion Diamant de Semilly is next up, being the sire of 2 and the sire’s sire of 2 more. Selle Francais (but 82% blood) stallion Jaguar Mail has three direct offspring in the field (one out of a full AA mare, one out of a high blood British mare, and one out of a low blood dressage mare). Three more stallions are represented by 2 direct offspring each: Selle Francais stallion Mr. Blue, Rheinlander dressage stallion Fidertanz, and Trakehner stallion Windfall. Two horses are by Contendro out of a Heraldik xx mare, and another is by Contender (Contendro’s sire) out of a Heraldik xx mare.

On the dam’s side of the pedigree, the most represented damsires are Heraldik xx (3 horses) and Rock King (3 horses). One mare, Rock Me Baby (by Rock King out of a Shaab xx mare), has two offspring at Toyko: Balham Mist by Mill Law on the Swedish team, and Colorado Blue by Jaguar Mail for Team Ireland. Also worth noting that one of the mares competing, the aforementioned Source de la Faye, already has an offspring competing at FEI level (Ultrasource del Cerro). He’s a 7yo currently competing at 2* level, and he completed Lion d’Angers last year, following in his mother’s footsteps.

Speaking of Lion d’Angers (how’s that for a segue) we have a LOT of horses in the field that came up through the FEI Young Horse classes. 55% of the horses in the field competed in these classes (which are 6yo 2* or 7yo 3*) on their rise up the levels. Even more impressively, 42% of the horses in the field competed at the Young Horse World Championships at Lion d’Angers at least once. Their success at that venue ranged from podium finishes to eliminated, but they did qualify and compete there.

Looking inward at our own US horses, two of them (if we count our reserve) competed in the USEA Young Event Horse program. Tsetserleg did one YEH class as a 5yo, scoring 79. Mai Baum did one YEH4 class, scoring 74, and one YEH5 class, scoring 73. Needless to say, neither of them took the YEH world by storm and neither made an appearance at Championships.

Trak lovers (there are always a handful of you and you know who you are) there are 3 Trakehners in the field for you. Or really four, if you count the one that is registered Westphalian but is actually by a TB stallion out of a full Trak mare (this is why we look at the pedigree, people, not the “breed”! Thanks for coming to my TED talk). Two of these Traks were bred in the USA and both are by Windfall – Vandiver (out of a TB x Trak mare) and Tsetserleg (out of a Trak mare).

While the overwhelming majority of the field comes from Holsteiner and/or Selle Francais jumper lines, there are a few traditionally dressage-oriented sires with some representation as well. On the sire’s side of the pedigree we see: De Niro (grandsire of 1), Sandro Hit (grandsire of 1), and Fidertanz (sire of 2). On the dam’s side we see each of these stallions in one horse each: Wolkentanz, Royal Dance, and Donnerhall.

As for a few fun little random facts:

• fischerchipmunk is one of 7 full siblings. He’s by far the most successful sibling, one other has evented to 3*, and one has showjumped to 1.35m.

• Tullabeg Flamenco has two full siblings, both eventing at FEI level – one at 2* and one at 3*.

• Totem de Brecey’s dam also produced 5 successful showjumpers who competed from 1.40m to 1.60m.

• Diachello, Z, and Fuiloda G all had dams that showjumped successfully in addition to being broodmares.

• One rider, Lara de Liedekerke of Belgium, is on a homebred horse. Alpaga D’arville is by Wonder Boy out of a full TB mare.

Let the games begin! Who are your favorites?

Did I pay a rush fee to get Presto’s Chatt photos in time to post them in the recaps? Yes. Did they actually show up in time? No. Am I gonna dedicate a whole post to them because now I’ve gotta get my money’s worth? Absolutely. Sorry not sorry. I’m sad that they didn’t get any dressage pics to memorialize his 23 score, but oh well. His first recognized Novice!

I think we’ve got ourselves a real baby event horse! He’s so game and I love that you can see it in his pictures.

I already did all the Chatt recaps of the actual horse show parts, but I feel like it deserves and needs one more little wrap-up post. Partly because it was a whole week, and a lot happened, but mostly because it was legit the most fun I’ve had a show in a long time. It was such a relaxed, chill, easy-going show, no drama, everybody happy, nobody on anybody’s nerves or complaining… it was lovely.

First and foremost, we figured out that Lex and Presto are pretty much kindred spirits. Both of them are young, cheeky, busy horses with an appetite for destruction, and I’m a little worried at what happens when they officially become friends and start to travel together. They weren’t even stabled next to each other but I swear the second they made eye contact they recognized what the other was deep down in their soul, and neighed at each other several times throughout the course of the weekend. Seeing them side by side in the warmup was quite hilarious too – one short and round little ball of Lex and one tall and skinny noodle of Presto. How will Hillary and I ever show together with those two monkeys in tow? Pray for us.

I also got to catch up with some people that I hadn’t seen in a while – Beka came to visit one day (gosh haven’t seen her in years but all the OG bloggers will remember her!)

and my brother, his wife, and my nephew came out one afternoon too. I stayed with them one night when we were there since they only live about half an hour away, and it was good to catch up. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen them. It was also kind of hilarious watching them meet Presto, as it always is with non-horse people. They got to help pull his braids out and give him carrots so they’re basically professional grooms now.

I also made BFF’s with Megan’s 6yo Prelim mare, Tenny (or as Tenny told me she’d rather be called – Tennifer). She’s known for being a little emotionally sensitive and very picky about things, but we legit bonded every morning when I was cleaning stalls. I was already pretty obsessed with her before Chatt (who wouldn’t be, she’s freaking stunning) but now she likes me back. And she doesn’t like anyone very much, so I feel special. Megan said I have to come to all of her shows to be Tenny’s emotional support animal, which is a job title I’d happily assume. Also trying to convince her that we need some Tenny embryos next year. I already have a few stallions picked out (naturally).

Aside from getting to watch Presto go, seeing Hillary and Lex boss up together was also a major highlight. Things are really clicking for them, and it’s fun having a front row seat. I’ve said this before, but at Chatt in particular they really owned it and I’m just so excited for her. He’s such a cool little horse and she’s already learned so much in such a short period of time. I’ve never seen her ride better. And they made the BN look so easy both weeks that they’re very clearly ready to move on to Novice (both Karl Slezak, who coached her week 1, and Megan agreed on that one). I’m just delighted to see her with such a nice horse and a promising partnership. The sky is the limit.

As I mentioned yesterday the trip also had it’s practical purposes, like getting to try on some more breeches, and I found a pair that I really like. I was able to figure out that I’m a 28 in most brands but for Horze the 26’s fit better. I liked the Ariat Trifactors (although I wish they were a smidge higher rise) but they only had a teal color in my size so I passed on that. I ended up with a pair of navy Horze Aubrey breeches that have silver piping and the deepest freakin pockets I’ve ever seen in my life. For real you could put a 6 month old baby in there (if you were so inclined). They’re super comfy and I like the fabric, although of course they only come in white, navy, and a very hideous shade of puke green. Kind of a bummer because I like them a lot, especially for the price, and would def buy them in more colors if they made more that I liked. But hey, at least I got to try on more breeches and come home with a pair. And I bought literally nothing else while we were there so that’s a banner achievement in and of itself, considering all the temptation (please god get the custom boot trailer the heck away from me, I’m being attacked).

I also got to pick up my long awaited and much anticipated custom breastplate that I’m super excited about. It’s kinda one of the hybrid collar type ones (like bridge meets polo?) that shapes around the neck and has a strap that goes back to the billets, but nothing between the front legs. A shoulder freedom breastcollar sort of similar to the Fairfax. A friend of mine started doing leatherwork as a hobby and I bugged her forever to try to make something like this, and she totally nailed it. It’s got tons of adjustability plus I got to pick my colors for everything – main leather, padding, hardware, and stitching. Of course I’m boring and got havana brown with navy padding, navy stitching, and stainless hardware. Was SUPER tempted to go with the rainbow hardware though, I’ll admit. It’s very classy and pretty though and fits Presto great, and I’m excited to have one of the first ones made and sold. There’s already a long line to buy them I think! He got to wear it all weekend and it worked great, plus I love how it looks. I dunno if the horses really care much about that strap between their legs or over their shoulder, but it looks more comfortable to me at least.

Most of all though, we just plain had a good freakin time at Chatt. Megan and her mom are great, super nice and thoughtful and always very appreciative to have help, which I’m equally happy to provide. We sweated our asses off and were very busy, but it still never felt at all stressful or negative in the least. Everyone helped everyone and supported each other genuinely. Plus there was pizza and Mexican food… what more does a girl need from a horse showcation? I hope there are many more shows just like this one in our future.