P
A Never Too Late
ublisher’s Welcome
few weeks ago, I witnessed a heartwarming moment while competing Second Level at a local eventing/dressage schooling show. I noticed a much older woman on a flashy bay warming up her horse nearby. Aſter my test, as my friends and I relaxed
for a few minutes by the show arena, this woman’s daughter, probably my age and with video camera in hand, announced that this was a very exciting day for her mother. She explained that her mother was 81 years old and that it’d been a lifelong goal to show at Second Level. Finally, today was the day. Amazed, we decided to stick around for moral support. Te adorable pair entered the arena and, despite a handful of bobbles,
they made it through the lengthy Second Level Test 3 nicely. I found myself holding my breath every time they did a medium trot! (Remember it’s all sitting trot at this level; no more posting.) We all knew that their score wouldn’t be stellar, but that wasn’t the point. As this determined rider exited the arena grinning from ear to ear, we cheered and hollered, hopefully adding to her thrill and pride in her accomplishment. She’d just checked something off her bucket list! Speaking of bucket lists, I recently checked a few items off my own. I attended, for the first time, the Rolex Kentucky 3-Day
event held at the end of April at the Kentucky Horse Park. Despite the 49-degree wet weather on cross-country day, the trip was worth it, as this is something I’ve been itching to do since we launched this magazine in 2009. ‘Impressive’ is the best word I can use to describe the quality of the riding and training of these super-athletic horses. With more and more international competitors traveling here to participate in this four-star event, the bar for eventing success
continues to rise. You’ll find our Conformation Corner column on page 32 features the reigning Rolex champion, the German mare FischerRocana FST. We also interviewed the oldest and youngest competitors at Rolex in the article starting on page 22. While I was in Kentucky, I was invited to visit JP Giacomini’s stable. Although JP is well known for training Iberian horses,
he has also trained Warmbloods. He had offered to write an ongoing training journal for Warmbloods Today, following the development of a young Totilas colt under his care. At first I was hesitant, but I was certainly intrigued, so I scheduled a visit with the secret hope of sitting on one of his trained stallions while there. I wasn’t disappointed—he put me on his top grand prix horse, Orion. Within a few minutes I was piaffing and passaging, doing easy flying changes and half-passes. For me it was a thrill to ride an Iberian Grand Prix horse, another item to check off on my bucket list. JP next brought out the Totilas colt Totil Hit, an impressive young stallion full of vigor and self-confidence. I leſt believing that an ongoing column to follow this horse’s development would indeed be interesting and informative, so I am pleased to announce its debut on page 27. We round out the issue with a feature on who’s cloning sport horses, a bloodline analysis of the horses at the Las Vegas World
Cup, a second article about the gastrointestinal health of our foals, good advice about free jumping and eye-opening interviews with the Holsteiner inspection judges. And you won’t be disappointed in this issue’s Barn Exam and Warmblood Whoas columns. I will remember that recent schooling show for a long time. Will you or I be able to ride and compete in our eighties like that
brave—and obviously healthy and fit—woman we cheered for at the show? Time will tell, but for now I’ll be adding that to my bucket list!
Liz Cornell
editor@warmbloodstoday.com
Our Mission: Warmbloods Today is the leading magazine in North America focused on the entire spectrum of Warmblood breeds. It’s a place where people from all aspects of the sport horse community can come together: amateurs, owners, trainers and breeders. Each issue contains interesting, informative and often heart-warming stories of peoples’ experiences with their horses, along with thought- provoking opinions from various professionals and amateurs. We cover all horses from European descent bred for the sports of jumping, dressage, eventing and driving including the Iberian breeds and American Warmbloods.
10 July/August 2015
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