The Long Road to Kentucky

Team USA: Boyd, Becky, Phillip, and Karen with Joanie Morris of the USEF

I had a marathon trip to get to Kentucky yesterday after the jog-up, which was successful for all 16 members, the riders all started driving to Kentucky. I drove with Karen and 2 hours into the trip her truck started making gurgling noises and we were soon to break down. After waiting with a Georgia mechanic we were picked up by Allison Springer, who shortly after that had a flat tire on her truck, so what should have been a five-hour drive turned into a 13-hour drive.

Getting checked in

I managed to fall into bed at 3am; at 6:30 morning we went through the athlete processing at the KHP and were issued our US team uniforms, and at 7:30 the horses arrived.

Arrival at the KHP

Neville apparently knew where he was as his ears were pricked and he looked ready for war.

Neville

Neville's settled in nicely

We spent the morning unloading the thousands of pounds of equipment we’ll be needing for the event. It’s great to be here; I saw a lot of my old friends from Australia who are on the Australian team, and team and there’s a huge, electric buzz around the Horse Park.

In the Stables

I plan to give Nev a light ride today to settle and relax him and then Phillip and I are going to Cathy Wieschhoff’s farm to give Tru luck and Remington some work just in case. The opening ceremony starts at 7:00 tonight and we will parade in our team uniform of cowboy boots and hats. More photos to come!

-Boyd

The Gates Have Opened at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games

PRESS RELEASE
DATE: September 25, 2010

LEXINGTON, KY—After years of anticipation, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games have finally kicked off in Lexington, Ky.

Saturday’s competition events include Reining Team Competition Part 1 at 9 a.m. EDT and Reining Team Competition Part 2 at 2 p.m. EDT in the Alltech Indoor Arena. These Reining World Championships, presented by John Deere, will see 14 countries competing in team events and seven countries competing in individual events. Start lists, live scoring and results are available online at www.alltechfeigames.com/results.

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will officially “open” at 7 p.m. as a cast of 1500 people and 200 horses from around the world pays tribute to the Games’ American debut in an opening ceremonies celebration. Kentuckians will have the opportunity to witness the pageantry and excitement of the opening ceremonies as most of the state’s NBC affiliates broadcast the event live from 7 – 9 p.m. EDT.

Forty different acts will be featured in the opening ceremonies, including Kentuckian Wynonna Judd; opera stars Denyce Graves, Cynthia Lawrence and Ronan Tynan; Sara Lee Guthrie; Cherryholmes; and Jazz at Lincoln Center among other notables. World-renowned boxing legend, humanitarian, global icon and Kentucky native Muhammad Ali will also be making a special appearance.

Dr. Everett McCorvey is the executive producer and director of the opening ceremonies. An MP3 opening ceremonies preview featuring Dr. McCorvey is available for free download from Lloyd Bell Productions at:

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/Everett%20McCorvey%2024-9.mp3

Experience the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in person by securing your tickets today at www.alltechfeigames.com or 1-888-934-2010.

About the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games are the world championships of eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The Games are held every four years and this will be the first occurrence in the United States.

The Games will be broadcast on NBC Sports, which has marked the largest commitment to network coverage of equestrian sport in U.S. television history. The 2010 Games are expected to have a statewide economic impact of $150 million, and current sponsors include Alltech, Rolex, John Deere, Ariat International, Inc., Meydan and Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital. For more information on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, please visit www.alltechfeigames.com

About Alltech

Founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech is a global animal health and nutrition company with 30 years’ experience in developing natural products that are scientifically proven to enhance animal health and performance. Headquartered in Nicholasville, Ky., Alltech trades in 120 countries and has 2300 employees worldwide.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Amy Walker

Public Relations, Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

859-255-2010

awalker@feigames2010.org

Susanna Elliott

Public Relations, Alltech

859-473-2696

suelliott@alltech.com

Come Visit Nutrena at the WEG!

Nutrena Equine Consultant Shelly Chase works with Boyd and Silva, as well as their barn manager Caitlin Silliman, to manage the diets of the variety of horses in the barn. With a relationship that began in early 2009, one of the things Shelly enjoys most about working with the Martins is the close attention they pay to every horse. Monthly feeding program evaluations, and as-needed consultations in between, keep everyone performing at their best.

"They always make time to talk with me, and review the horses and what competitions are coming up. If they have a concern about a horse, they talk with me right away" says Shelly. "I like that they are comfortable calling on me as a resource and part of their team - that is how I really feel about it - I am a part of their team."

As a result, the feed order for the barn always contains a variety of products. From high-powered diets of XTN, Legacy and Empower for Remington and Neville Bardos, to LiteBalance for some of the easier keepers, the team at Nutrena is proud to support the performance of the horses in the Martin's stable. With over 80 years in the animal nutrition business, and a continued emphasis on cutting-edge research conducted both at our Innovation Campus in Elk River Minnesota as well as in conjunction with leading research universities around the world, Nutrena premium horse feeds contain the optimum nutrient levels needed to keep Boyd & Silva's mounts healthy and performing to the best of their ability.

Interested in seeing what Nutrena can do for your stable? Visit Nutrena in Booth #814 at the International Equestrian Festival being held downtown Lexington while the World Equestrian Games. Nutrena is the sponsor of PolyTrack Park at IEF, which is the main demonstration and seminar area. View our schedule of events at www.gamechangingnutrition.com.

Final Days at WEG Training Camp

Left to Right: Woodburn, Remington XXV and Neville Bardos

The second week of our training camp has been productive for both horses. Oded came in on Monday and Tuesday and we concentrated on specific movements out of the dressage test and both horses were fantastic and looked like they could do a super test any time soon. Katie Prudent flew down from VA on Wed and gave the whole group a jump school. They still had the course set up from the AEC so we basically warmed up and jumped specific lines from the course that had proved particularly troublesome at the competition. Both boys jumped extremely well; I was over the moon with them.

Neville doing what he loves most

Tomorrow at 7am is our final mandatory gallop and then apparently they’re going to trot the horses up at 11:00 for their final health inspection. If all looks good then Neville will leave for the horse park in Phillip’s trailer at midnight on Friday night and Remington will leave for a barn next door to the Horse Park where all alternate horses will stay in work and on standby until the Games are over. The US team has the option of replacing any horse on the team with an alternate up until Tuesday.

All the riders leave tomorrow afternoon in a car. We have to go through the rider/athlete processing on Friday evening and get our accreditation and be ready for the opening ceremony on Saturday night.

Andrea packing

We spent this afternoon strategically packing all our horses and gear; my young horses go back to PA tomorrow with Lillian and then Neville and Remington go their separate ways tomorrow. To be quite honest it still doesn’t seem anything is for sure, because in the business of training event horses all your plans can change after one gallop. I figure like I’ve done everything I can to get them both going their best and I just have to hold my breath.

I’ve been pretty focused here in the camp, and I’ve kept myself busy all day every day, doing a bit of teaching and getting plenty of exercise and helping Andrea in the barn.


The evenings have been good fun with a team dinner of some sort each evening. Last night we had a send-off cocktail party at Carl Bouckaert’s house which also happened to be Capt. Mark Phillips’ 52nd birthday.
My next blog update will come next week from the Kentucky Horse Park!

-Boyd

Exciting New Sponsorship from HayGain!

Contact Information:

Clint Joiner Monica Arnold

Director, HAYGAIN North America Public Relations Director

1.800.525.4339 731.512.0080

clint@haygain.us monica@blueaugust.com

_______________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  

HAYGAIN Sponsors Award-Winning Competitor

  

Union City, TN – HAYGAIN Hay Steamers is proud to announce its sponsorship of award-winning U.S. Eventing competitor Boyd Martin.  

Born an Australian native, Boyd Martin relocated to the United States in 2007 to pursue his dream of becoming an international eventing competitor. In Australia, he won the 2003 Adelaide CCI**** and trained out of Heath and Rozzle Ryan’s equestrian center. Boyd worked as assistant trainer to Olympic Gold Medalist Phillip Dutton during his first two years in the United States. During that time, he also saw great success as a competitor, placing 2^nd and 4^th overall at the 2007 Fair Hill CCI*** and winning the 2008 Bromont CCI** in Canada.

Boyd officially changed his citizenship with the FEI in 2009 and began riding for the United States. Also in 2009, Boyd won the CIC*** at Jersey Fresh, the CCI*** at Fair Hill, and was named the USEA preliminary rider of the year. Soon after, he and Neville were named to the revised 2010 USEF Eventing High Performance Training “A” list.

2010 has been a year of great success for Boyd, including first place wins at Pine Top Winter Horse Trials I, Sporting Days Farm Horse Trials, Southern Pines Horse Trials II, Bromont Three-Day Event, Surefire Horse Trials, Event at Rebecca Farm, Millbrook Horse Trials, Waredaca Farm Horse Trials and Richland Park Horse Trials. Boyd has also placed well in several other prestigious competitions including The Fork, Fair Hill International, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and the Virginia Three-Day Event among others. Boyd is currently ranked 3^rd on the USEA 2010 Overall Leaderboard with a total of 412.0 points. To top off all of the excitement this year has brought, Boyd has reached his goal and will ride for Team USA at the 2010 Alltech/FEI World Equestrian Games to be held in Lexington, Kentucky from Sept 25 through October 10.

Boyd, his wife Silva, and their business, Windurra USA, LLC, are based out of Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Penn. While Boyd assisted Dutton and began competing on his own, Silva, a licensed riding instructor from Germany, worked hard to establish a successful dressage training business where she has become a well respected and sought-after dressage instructor for all levels of eventing.

The HAYGAIN team is proud to support Boyd as he continues his journey in Three Day Eventing. On behalf of the HAYGAIN team, Congratulations and best of luck for the World Equestrian Games!

HAYGAIN is a revolutionary steaming system that transforms hay into dust-free forage, giving horses a healthier respiratory system and maximizing their performance. Only HAYGAIN ensures steaming the hay to temperatures in excess of 212 degrees Fahrenheit to kill all harmful fungal spores, mites and other organisms, effectively sterilizing while maintaining the hay’s nutritional value.

To learn more about HAYGAIN hay steamers, visit www.haygain.us. For any questions or requests, please contact Monica Arnold, PR Director -Blue August- at monica@blueaugust.com.