Home Safely!

With what looked to be a technical but fair course, today saw quite a few surprises on the XC course, with both  Allison and Tiana coming unseated, and several other top competitors having major mishaps.

Boyd and Remi rode a straight forward and clean XC round (one of the few today) with 12 time penalties, which leave them standing in 9th place going into stadium tomorrow.  Fingers crossed that they both rest well tonight and continue to show their recent brilliance in stadium tomorrow!

The Best Rolex Fashion at Wednesday Jogs!

Thanks to Three Days Three Ways for this great nod to Bills Khakis!
The Best Rolex Fashion at Wednesday Jogs

By Courtney Young, Shannon Crocker, Billy Register, and Samantha Bergin

Who wore what at the Rolex jogs was on everyone’s mind yesterday despite the impending doom of the weather forecast. But as eventers are apt to do, the field of 45 riders persevered and jogged their horses through puddles and rain splatters and offered us a look at some of the best looks for Rolex 2011.  Here they are.

photo by USEA

Dang, Boyd knocked it out of the park this year!  The prepster tie with the tattersall shirt is perfect without overwhelming and, topped with a fedora, we’re off to play cricket with a Gin in Tonic in hand. With a distinctive look and point-of-view Boyd takes some risks here…and reaps the rewards tenfold.  We’re not sure who dressed him (maybe his beautiful wife Silva?) but whoever it was, keep them on retainer!  Fashion note: The cardinal rule with sports jackets is never button the bottom button. A sport coat will never have three buttons unless you’re an NBA player (and while Boyd is tall, he’s not an NBA player)  And if you’re wearing s suit jacket, according to Nordstrom’s, follow the “Sometimes, Always, Never” rule.  That is to say, starting with the top button it’s “sometimes” buttoned, the second is “always” buttoned, and the third and bottom button is “never” buttoned.  One more thing: The flash noseband is removable, you should have done that. Kate Moss needs her belt back.  All that said, though, good on you, Boyd.

Fabulous Interview with Ecogold!

Popular ECOGOLD-rider Boyd Martin was at our stand earlier today answering questions and our Ammie Blogger Carrie did a great job hosting. Boyd talked about his support team, discussed riding position, how he prepares mentally for competition, secret to success for young riders, what he would change in his career and of course, his two cats.

Boyd and his fans

ECOGOLD's Boyd Martin Q&A at 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event

YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK!

Remington Stands in 5th After First Day of Dressage!

The Rolex Kentucky 3 Day event got under way today with some sunshine on top of the horse park!  The first horse in dressage was Allison Springer on Arthur, and they did a sensational test and held the lead throughout the day on a score of 42.

After lunch Remington and Boyd had their test, warming up superbly, showing signs of brilliance from his last 4* test at Pau....but as they went down the tunnel to the test Boyd felt Remi such back a bit.  He felt that the stadium environment made him hesitate a bit, but he was reasonably happy with most of the work.

The low point of the test came from a course error by the pilot, when Boyd had a blank moment forgetting an 8 meter circle, which cost them 2 points.  All in all they finished in 5th place on a score of 49, which is in striking distance of the top contenders for the competition.  Tomorrow they have the day to prepare for cross country on Saturday at 11:10am.

It was a full day of work with the sponsors as well.  Directly after his dressage test, Boyd joined Allison Springer for the Smartpak course walk, then was whisked away by Land Rover & the USEF for a promotional photo shoot with Will Coleman and Sinead Halpin.  The life of a rock star, but Boyd's main focus remains with Remington and this competition!

The photo albums have all been posted to Facebook or you can click on a link below.

Till tomorrow........LT

Dressage Slideshow
SmartPak Course Walk
Land Rover / USEF Photo Shoot

Tornado Survival, then Showing Style and Class in the Trot Up.

It was a very unusual day here at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. The Wednesday of this event is usually spent on fine tuning some of the dressage test, then presenting our horses for the first horse inspection. However, after an early morning ride at 6:45 that went very well, the Tornado warning sirens started screaming.
We were instructed to gather all of the horses down in the Alltech indoor stadium. This stadium is usually used for the reining horses, but today it was the bunker for around 55 horses, riders, and officials. We were held in there for about an hour and a half until the storm passed. The trot up started soon after that.

In the past, certain people have been slightly critical of my dress sense and taste in clothing for the trot-up, but this year I had plenty of help from top fashion gurus, and my get-up this year included a Dick Tracey hat, supplied by Jane Hottensen from "Folly" in Aiken; button-up dress shirt & slacks by Bill Thomas from "Bills Khakis" in PA; and Italian brown dress shoes borrowed from my Aiken roommate Nick Meyers
Not only did I look the part, Remington looked awesome at the trot up thanks to my new groom Lindsey Taylor. He also looks fit as a fiddle and in good spirits!

My dressage is on about 1:45 tomorrow. I think I will give Remia light ride in the morning to loosen him up. Looking to Saturday, the cross-country course looks long, big and technical.

-Boyd

Announcing Series 2 in Our Training Videos!!

We've just finished the second series of eventing training videos filmed at Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee!  This series focuses on competition related topics such as managing a nervous horse for the dressage phase and building a plan for a successful cross country ride.  

Series 1 is meant to be a building block for building a training program at home, while series 2 takes your program to the next level at the competition.  We hope that you invest in the whole series, as we are confident that these training tips will help give you insight into Boyd's methods for a successful training program!

You can check out both of our series on the website!

Managing a Nervous Horse in the Dressage Phase

Preparing For A Successful Cross Country Ride!

Greetings from the Kentucky Horse Park and the Rolex Kentucky CCI****!

Remington’s personal assistant, Lindsey Taylor

Grazing near the Squirrel jump

Remington arrived safe and sound at the Kentucky Horse Park this afternoon to compete in his 3rd career four-star event. I hopped on him and went for a relaxing stroll and we’re ready for tomorrow’s first serious dressage tune-up before the event. Silva’s flying in tomorrow and I’ll probably just work Remi once and keep him fresh for the dressage. I think we’re number 19 in the draw which probably means we’ll do our test mid-Thursday sometime, (official times coming after Wednesday’s jog).

Remi shipped well and looks ready to take on the big event. I’m feeling pretty confident with Remi and I’m in familiar territory; last year he put in a stellar performance to come 12th and I’m hoping to outdo that this year.

Stay tuned for more exciting news and photos from Rolex Kentucky!

-Boyd

Lillian Pink SOLD!!

I wish to congratulate Sydney Solomon from Maryland for the purchase of Lillian Pink. Sydney is a young up and coming rider who gets on very well with Lilly and I wish her all the best in her future partnership with Lilly. 

Dr. Laurie Cameron was the proud breeder and owner of Lilly. Laurie placed this fantastic mare with us right from the beginning, I broke her in as a three year old and then started her very successful competition career.  One of my assistant riders, Caitlin Silliman, also contributed in the production of Lilly, competing her a couple times for Laurie.

Lilly is a six year old chestnut mare by the super sire Le Primeur. She has a fantastic competition record highlighted by wins at the preliminary level at Maryland Horse Trials and Waradaca Horse Trials. I wish to thank Laurie for placing this great horse with us for the last couple of years.

Boyd