Dates and Locations Announced for 2010 Eventing High Performance Training Sessions

From the USEF Eventing Department

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has announced the following dates, locations and details for the 2010 Eventing High Performance Training Sessions. Training sessions are for A and B listed riders unless otherwise noted.

DATE LOCATION

January 24-25 El Campeon Farm Training Session, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Mark Phillips

February 4-5 Ocala Training Session, Ocala FL (Location TBD)
• Mark Phillips

February 6-8 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• Feb 6: A listed riders only (12 noon) with Mark Phillips
• Feb 7-8: Oded Shimoni and Mark Phillips

February 10-12 El Campeon Farm Training Session, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Sandy Phillips

February 15-16 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• Katie Prudent

February 19-20 El Campeon Farm Training Session, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Mark Phillips

February 22-24 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• Oded Shimoni and Mark Phillips

February 25-26 Ocala Training Session, Ocala FL (Location TBD)
• Mark Phillips

March 10-12 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• March 10: A listed riders only with Mark Phillips

March 15-17 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• March 15-16: Oded Shimoni with Mark Phillips
• March 16-17: Katie Prudent with Mark Phillips

The 2010 High Performance Training Lists are available here

Auditors are welcome and encouraged, but please be respectful of the lessons and the property. USEF reserves the right to change the dates and locations. The lesson times have not been finalized, but in general, lessons run from 8:30am to 4:30pm. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Ike: sara.ike@usef.org or 908.326.1164.

Boyd as a Disco Elf??

Ho Ho Ho!  Check out this video, compliments of Eventing Nation!!

Boyd to Appear at the Md Horse Expo!!

The Horse World Expo offers the Best of the Best in the horse industry. Top quality seminars and clinics - meet and learn from industry professionals from all over the country. The experts will join us to discuss topics covering virtually every aspect of horse care and training. There are two arenas and two seminar halls, which will have activities scheduled continuously throughout the weekend.

Boyd will be presenting on Friday January 22nd & Saturday the 23rd.  His presentations are as follows:

Friday Jan 22nd
2 - 3pm, Main Arena - Eventing - Fine Tune Your Horse's Rideability & Adjustability Over Fences
6-7pm, Main Seminar Hall - Finding Your Next Event Horse & Getting Fit for Competition

Saturday Jan 23rd
11am - noon - Main Arena - Training for XC at Home, Steps for Building & Using a Home Course

1 - 2pm - Main Seminar Hall - Training Techniques to Get Your Young Horse Started in Eventing

Topics in the arena are mounted, topics in the seminar hall are lectures only.

Come enjoy an educational day of teaching seminars and shop till you drop!!
For a full list of the Expo's seminars, please visit their website.

Greetings from Germany!

Boyd and I have spent our first Christmas apart from each other since we met. Since both our families are so far away, and we miss them both, we decided to go different directions this year!


I am enjoying spending time with my family in Germany, but I have to say that I would prefer the Australian weather much more than the cold rainy days in Germany.  I am hoping to see Boyds family some time in the next year too!!!

My older sister Nina has a little son called Niels (pictured) and I have very much enjoyed getting to know him since I hardly ever get to see him.

I am flying back home on sunday and I am looking forward to working again!

Silva

Doing it tough in Australia!!

Hey guys.. Life is tough here in Australia! I have been running around checking out horses here and there. I jetted up to Queensland to see my good mate Kevin McNab. We took two days living the good life up at Airlie Beach in North Qld. I did a fair bit of swimming and surfing on the beautiful North coast, and then flew home to get Betty served to Jive again....


Christmas is at Auntie Jans, then its the boxing day horse races at the Royal Randwick on the 26th... After that I am heading back to reality in PA!!

Merry Christmas - Boyd

Happy Holidays from Boyd and Silva

We’d like wish everyone a Merry Christmas and thank everyone involved with our continuing success in the United States. We owe a debt of gratitude to the team of workers and coaches around us for putting in a huge effort in 2009: our two riders, Lillian Heard and Caitlin Silliman; our groom, Shannon Kinsley; and all the working pupils: David Silva, Randall Pearve, Emily Van Gemeren, Devon Seery and Maddie Blackman; our blacksmiths, Doug Neilsen and Todd Meister; vets Mary Griffen and Kevin Keane; and our coaches Phillip Dutton and Jessica Ransehousen.

Of course we owe a huge thanks to all of our sponsors and the owners who have put horses in training with us: without them none of this would be possible. We understand that it has been a long tough financial year for everyone and we appreciate those who stuck by us even as their financial advisors were telling them not to!

Without our horse owners we would have nothing to ride; they are the backbone of the sport and the reason we employ all these hardworking people. Owning a horse can be rewarding and also have its drawbacks: while the highs are high, the lows are often very low. We are lucky to have a group of owners who understand when things don’t go perfectly, and who understand that eventually things will start coming good.

On a personal level this has been a very rewarding year for me. I have ridden a number of top horses from the three-star level down to beginner novice. Some people thing my biggest thrill is my Fair Hill win on Neville but I get the same enjoyment from riding the young horses with a bright future on a daily basis. I think the quality of young horses that we have in training at the moment is outstanding and I can’t wait until next year to showcase their talent.

In hindsight the big decision of turning into an American rider this year is one of my best decisions. It was a huge call but there is not one moment that I’ve regretted it. I’ve felt the full support of the eventing community and been embraced by the high performance groups of riders and officials. I thought there might be one or two people with weird feelings about it but if there are, they’ve done a good job of hiding it.

Obviously we have a big year coming up in 2010. First and foremost I want to ride a couple of horses around Kentucky, and then I really want to work on turning some of these young horses into big-time horses.

Another goal is to take Caitlin and Lillian from promising Young Riders into proven, experienced high-level riders. Part of my new found satisfaction in life this year is watching the riders I teach be successful at every competition they turn up it. It’s very rewarding as a coach to know that the hours I spend yelling at my students every day actually benefits them in the long run.

We wish everyone the best in 2010!
Happy Holidays,


Boyd and Silva Martin

A New Foal by Felicity!

Silva's Wolkenstein II broodmare Felicity (Fendi's Mum) had a gorgeous filly foal by Jive Magic (Jeff The Cheff's dad) this morning in Lochinvar, NSW, Australia. She looks great, with nice long legs. The birth was a bit of a surprise to my mum this morning as she sipped on her cup of coffee and noticed a new foal prancing around the paddock.

We also owe all of our blog followers the final decision on the last foals name.  We've got our homework to complete over the holiday!

- Boyd