View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Horse & Country (@horseandcountrytv) Oh, you thought two spring CCI5* fixtures was a treat? Well buckle up, eventing nerds, because – surprise! – there’s another one on the go right now, whetting our collective whistles for the few weeks of madness to come. I won’t profess to understand how time zones work, so to be totally honest with you, cross-country at the Adelaide Equestrian Festival in sunny Australia could be starting in five minutes, or it could be starting in five hours, and I’m sorry, but not that sorry, if that ..read more

“Honestly, I don’t know how I ended up here, but I’m not mad that I ended up here. It just happened. I just let life do life and here we are.” So began my interview with 23-year-old Daija Sams, who has meandered into a career path in the equestrian industry, mostly by seeking new opportunities and rarely saying no. From modeling to working as a barn manager and assistant trainer, to chasing dreams as a new eventer, Daija believes the sky’s the limit. One winter, she found herself working as a model for photographer Cassidy Brooke. “I was on winter break from the Savannah College of Art and Des ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom McEwen (@tommceweneventing) So, I don’t know if you heard, but there is just one week to go before a certain event kicks off. Yep, that’s right, the countdown to the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event is ON, with horses arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park from all over the world. Amongst them is JL Dublin, last year’s runner up, who will be vying for another crack at the coveted title. He and Adam Short – right hand man to Dubs’ jockey Tom McEwan, and the friendliest person in our sport – made the trip to the States on Wednesday evening, and ..read more

Kentucky may be looming, but the first CCI5* of the season belongs to the Southern Hemisphere: the Adelaide Equestrian Festival, to be specific. You’ll likely be familiar with the iconic atmosphere of Adelaide, which hosts one of the most unique cross country courses in the world, traveling through the city surface streets for a portion of the track. You can get an idea of the layout of this course, designed by Mike Etherington-Smith, below (click the image to view the full preview on CrossCountryApp). You can view entries for this event here; the competition includes the Bates Saddles Young ..read more

Sara Kozumplik and Rubens D’ysieux. Photo by Shelby Allen. At 19 years old, Rubens D’Ysieux has had a long career at the upper levels. Beginning with Michele Kuchta, “Rubens” won his first ever FEI event, a CIC1* in 2013 at Poplar Place Horse Trials in Hamilton, GA. Eventually, Sara Kozumplik took over the ride on Rubens, owned by herself and Edy Rameika, in 2016 when the gray Selle Francais was 11 years old. Now, after traveling through North America with Sara on board, Rubens is stepping down from the upper levels after finishing in the top ten at the TerraNova 4*-S earlier this month. Far ..read more

A composite image of the Port of Marseilles, which will welcome the Olympic torch to France this month. Photo © Paris 2024 – Florian Hulleu. We’ve officially made it to the 100-day countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and whether you’re one of the (very lucky) few who managed to bag some tickets in today’s final release, or you’re planning a watching party from home, it’s hard not to feel the frisson of excitement that comes with this kind of proximity. And if that spark hasn’t quite been lit for you yet? Perhaps a literal flame will do the trick. Yesterday saw the start of the traditi ..read more

Some new features and a different direction greet us in the first preview of Derek di Grazia’s cross country designs for this year’s Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by MARS Equestrian. Take a look at the above video, which takes us around some of the key and newly-added questions on the CCI5* course. The iconic Head of the Lake complex, for instance, comes much earlier on this year’s track, around minute 5 at fence 13 versus at fence 17 in 2023. Keep an eye on CrossCountryApp for publication of the full fence-by-fence preview, and of course you’ll have your EN team on the ground ..read more

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno at Badminton in 2023. Photo by Nico Morgan Media. Speak to any rider who’s put in an entry for a five-star, and they’ll all sing you some variation of the same song: “I’m not even worrying about the cross-country right now – all I’m worrying about is getting there.” Keeping a horse at top-level fitness while also avoiding minor strains and injuries is one of the toughest balancing acts a horseperson can manage, and so for every stacked entry list we pore over with excitement, there’s always a handful — sometimes a double handful — of horses on it that’ll disap ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Military Boekelo-Enschede (@militaryboekelo) If you watched the FEI Nations Cup final in Boekelo last season, you’ll remember that water and all the problems it caused, not least for reigning Olympic champion and overnight leader Julia Krajewski, riding Nickel 21, who, like a number of other competitors that day, took an early bath and ducked out of the competition. The footing was checked, of course – over and over – but the trips kept coming. It’s not the first time the main water has been a talking point for the wrong reasons at Boekelo, so ..read more

It’s time for a fresh new episode of Athletux’s Behind the Barn series leading up to the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by MARS Equestrian happening next week (April 25-28) in Lexington, KY. For this episode, we hear from best friends Sara Kozumplik and Sharon White, both of whom will be competing in the 5* at Kentucky next week. Find out if Sharon is as nice as everyone says she is, what she packs for Kentucky every year, how the two first met, and much more in this entertaining video sponsored by Lifeforce Horse Supplements. Keep an eye out for more Behind the Barn episodes la ..read more