P
O La Crème
ublisher’s Welcome
n Easter weekend, as I was driving on the interstate here in Florida, I passed a large, empty horse transport van traveling south. It was most likely heading to Wellington to pick up another load of sport horses to bring back north. It suddenly dawned on me that the winter show season was over. HITS, WEF, AGDF and all the other acronymic events were
closing down and competitors were heading north and west to—hopefully—spring-like conditions. And what a winter season it was in Florida. While the weather in much of the country was extreme, with ice, snow and
temperatures far below normal, it was way above normal here—and I’m referring to more than the weather. Te volume of entries at dressage, eventing and jumping competitions around the state were up—way up. I live close to the Rocking Horse show grounds, where they experienced record-breaking entries of well over 500 event horses. In fact, twice I volunteered to be a ‘jump judge’— something I haven’t done since the late ’80s—because the organizers had to add extra days of cross country and were desperate for more judges. I also made my annual trek to Wellington one March weekend to watch the dressage and show jumping. No surprise, the area
was booming with equestrians and really high-caliber horses, not to mention topnotch riding and fabulous performances. Even the spectators were more abundant than usual. I also found the number of competitors from Europe and South America coming to our ‘sunshine state’ quite remarkable. Okay, it wasn’t the Olympics, but as I watched the Grand Prix, I felt like I was seeing la crème de la crème of equestrian sport. It was truly inspirational. Speaking of la crème, in this issue we present several top horses making their mark. First, the comeback story of Phillip Dutton’s
four-star horse Mr. Medicott aſter incurring an injury at last year’s Rolex Kentucky. Next, you might check out Will Simpson’s story on his young jumper Te Dude: the pair won five Grands Prix this winter in California. All I can say is ‘wow’! Since most of us couldn’t be there, we also share some excellent advice from the USDF FEI Trainers Conference that featured international dressage judge Stephen Clarke. And for even more crème, on page 33 you’ll find an interesting analysis on how the different breeds and sires fared in the 2014 Horse of the Year awards in dressage. We round out the issue with some legal tax advice about writing off our horse expenses, guidance as to front leg conformation,
an update on the Oldenburg breed, thoughts on when to castrate your colt, a discussion of what equestrian-based residential communities have to offer, and lastly, some thought-provoking advice from Michael Barisone in the “Warmblood Whoas” column. I hope you’ll find articles that pique your interest and help you with your own horses—even in some small way. I don’t know about you, but usually a dollop of whipped cream on a delicious dessert makes it taste even better. Te same is true
with horses, where it’s oſten that last bit of finessing and minor adjusting that can make all the difference. It takes skill and patience to decide when and how that dollop of whipped cream—or training—should be applied. As we continue to develop our skills, we can all aspire to be la crème de la crème, the very best we can be, as we work with our horses. Here’s to heavenly desserts and fine horsemanship!
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 May/June 2015
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