Hello and happy Friday, everyone! Here’s what’s been happening in the horse world this week.
- We’ve talked about The Century Club, for senior horses and riders competing in dressage. We’ve also talked about mules succeeding in that same sport. You know what’s coming next. A 77-year-old dressage rider and her 23-year-old dressage mule are getting ready to join the club. Congrats to them!
- In Iceland, some horse breeders leave their horses to graze during the summer, then round them up for the winter. Check out Mashable’s photo essay on the annual roundup.
- The Man Against Horse Race is an annual endurance-ride-meets-ultra-marathon in Arizona, and it takes place this weekend. As if tackling 50 miles on foot or horseback wasn’t enough of a challenge, check out the footage of Mingus Mountain, the race’s halfway point, shown at around 2:22 in the video below.
- If the forecast for your area for this weekend is similar to ours here in Lexington (cold, rainy, windy) you might want to stay indoors with a hot drink, a blanket and some entertainment. I recommend the live stream of the 2015 All-American Quarter Horse Congress (it’s free!)
- Also this weekend, the Longines Masters of Los Angeles Horse Show is taking place, and this prestigious show is known for attracting celebrities who are also equestrians, m-/billionaires daughters who are also equestrians, and just plain equestrians.
- Speaking of celebrities who are also equestrians, Kaley Cuoco was in the entertainment news this week after announcing the end of her marriage to tennis star Ryan Sweeting. And, as with recently divorced equestrian Miranda Lambert, Cuoco appeared to have consoled herself with horses. In fact, the accomplished show jumper (and as of last week, officially a grand prix rider) just bought a new one named Zaza. Condolences and congratulations to Cuoco.
- And finally, if you are in the Bend, Oregon, area and your horse loves carrots, Equine Outreach horse rescue received a donation of 22 tons of carrots—more than they can safely feed their herd before the bumper crop goes bad. (“Challenge accepted,” said the horses.)
That’s it for this week. Enjoy your weekend!
Back to The Near Side
Leslie Potter is Sr. Associate Web Editor of horseillustrated.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LeslieInLex.
