The Equestrian Blog

Be warned – Horsetail, Mares Tail or Scouring Rush

Just a quick question... As horse owners we're mostly all familiar with the battle against ragwort and how it has spread into every field, central reservation and grass verge in the country, but how many of us know anything about mares tail?

Horse or Mares Tail, (scientific name Equisetum Palustre), is toxic to horses and should in my opinion be equestrian enemy number one. It looks like it belongs in Jurassic Park and spreads like wildfire. From a few small patches last year my paddock is now covered in it and it looks as if it's spreading fast and here to stay.

I've been researching this plant and what I've discovered doesn't make for pleasant reading.. more at Mares Tail - Toxic To Horses

Eventing isn’t exciting enough…

Posted by idex7 | Filed under Eventing, Worth Mentioning

So now we have Express Eventing and... Best of all, competitors will be judged by "celebrities" who appear to know little or nothing about riding - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Arlene (Who) Phillips. .

Express Eventing is a radical new compact version of the sport of eventing, designed for arenas and stadiums around the world. It condenses all the drama and excitement of traditional eventing into just half a day, with all the action visible from one seat.

Sounds exciting and it may just be exciting, but is it eventing?

Or is it just a, made for television, minor celebrity filled, get your money out of your pockets, overpriced, under delivering, waste of time.

The runners and riders list looks impressive with Nicolas Touzaint, William Fox-Pitt, Clayton Fredericks, Bettina Hoy, Mary King, Andrew Nicholson and a variety of other top eventers all qualifying to compete for the £100,000 first prize at the International Cup in 2009. The express eventing website splashes liberal links to the qualifying riders list page, just to make sure you don't miss them.

So, How did the riders qualify?

We have used the FEI rider rankings and past rider performances to determine who should be invited to the inaugural competition.

Hmmm, so based on your current, crowd pulling, popularity then.

There appears to have been a lot of effort put into express eventing and the website is certainly pushing the excitement part. But, an event appears to only last for a morning, the cross-country course is a paltry 1500 metres long and cross-country and showjumping are combined with a quick change routine.

All we need now is the clown make-up and you can see the blooper re-runs for years to come.

I remember getting excited about indoor cross-country jumping after watching a youtube video of it in a Canadian competition, but after paying extra for the best seats at Olympia or some other big event, I was very disappointed to see it was just showjumping over small cross country obstacles.

No... I love eventing and I really, really respect and admire event riders and event horses. I really appreciate the effort riders and horses put in and I love those big three day events.

I don't like the sound of this. I don't see where Tara Palmer thingy and Jodie (get me on any show you can) Kidd, fit in. There's nothing about their participation on the website.

Or where being judged by celebrity judges adds any credibility to professional riders like Nicolas Touzaint, William Fox-Pitt, Clayton Fredericks and the rest of the riders featured on the website. If they ever actually compete.

But then, I checked the ticket prices.... Upper Tier £35.00 and Middle Tier £45.00

Looks like a hope to get it on television, get your money out of your pockets, overpriced, under delivering, minor celebrity filled... GET ME OUT Of HERE.