On the Way to Wit's End

Boyd is driving to Canada today to compete at the Wit's End Horse Trials and HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing Qualifier in Mansfield, Ontario this weekend. Here is an update from the road:

I have four horses running this weekend at Wit's End. Remington XXV is having his first serious run since he won the two-star at Jersey Fresh (click here for video). He's competing in the CIC***-W and is on track with his preparation for the CCI*** at Fair Hill in October. I'm pretty excited about this weekend because his flat work has been going really well, and there is $40,000 prize money on the line. If he feels good on cross-country I'll let him stretch out and gallop a little.

Another one I'm excited about is Shatzi W, pictured at right, who is running in her first advanced this weekend. This is the first time that I will be riding a horse that I bred at this level. She's getting to be a downright worldly mare: she has competed in Australia and the U.S., and Canada will be the third country that she's competed in. My goal is to get her qualified for a three-star, which is tough with the new qualifications since you have to run all over the country, so hopefully she'll have a good run this weekend.

I also have two other horses in the advanced division. Rock On Rose, who belongs to Bruce Davidson, is looking pretty good; Bruce has been helping me a lot with her dressage and jumping and I am also aiming her for Fair Hill in the fall. Wit's End will be her first three-day since Bromont, again on Canadian soil.

Benwald had a quiet past few months, most recently running intermediate at Maryland. This is his first big event since The Fork; he was pretty footsore after pulling both front shoes on cross-country there and glue-0n shoes seem to have helped him a lot.

We're crossing the border now...be sure to check back for updates!

-Boyd