My Favorite Photos of the Year

On December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 By Lindsay BerrethIn Competition recap, Fair Hill2 Comments

I had a pretty crazy year of travel for The Chronicle and I thought I’d share some of my favorite photos I’ve taken.

I mostly covered eventing, including Red Hills, Bromont, the Carolina International, Great Meadow, Jersey Fresh, Plantation Field, The Fork, Fair Hill and the AECs, as well as CDI***** dressage in Florida, the USEA Convention, two Jimmy Wofford clinics and the Pan Am Games.

I wrote about my favorite memory for COTH as well.

“This year I headed to my first ever championship as a member of the media when I covered the Pan American Games in Toronto with my co-worker Lisa Slade.

I was a little nervous, having heard tales of chaos and stress at multi-discipline championships from other more seasoned staffers. But I’d also heard them rave about how amazing it was to see Valegro dance to music or feel the tension so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife as the final horse cleared the final show jump in eventing.

In the end, the experience was much more the latter. Sure, Lisa and I had to sneak in PB&Js every day for lunch because the few food vendors were overwhelmed and yes, there were some stressful days worrying about getting our coverage up even though we were wet/hot/cold/hungry/tired, but to me it was worth it to experience the U.S. team on the podium multiple times, and to be able to witness equestrian sport on a global scale.

I wish I’d had time to talk to every rider from another country and learn their story, but reporting on the medal contenders was first priority, leaving little time for much else. I did get to talk to a few South American riders across all three disciplines over those two weeks though, and learning the stories of what they go through to be able to compete at the Pan Ams, which for many is the pinnacle of their career, and how excited they were to bring attention to equestrian sport in their countries was really amazing. They took their jobs as ambassadors of the sport very seriously and with a great amount of pride.

There really were so many memorable moments, it’s hard to choose! McLain Ward riding the spicy Rothchild to his first individual championship medal, Brazil’s Ruy Fonseca so close to an individual gold before dropping the final rail in the eventing to give Marilyn Little the gold, the impressive Brazilians across all disciplines, Steffen Peters’ elation aboard Legolas in the dressage…Some say the Pan Ams aren’t as prestigious as other championships, but to me and the many riders who were privileged to be there, those medals and experiences mean so much.”

Without further ado, here are my favorite photos in no particular order. 1DSC_0038

Brazilian dressage rider Leandro Aparecido Da Silva’s daugther gave Di Caprio a pat after his test at the Pan Ams. I’m not the strongest candid photographer (I’m working on it!), but this one was pretty sweet.

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Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM at Jersey Fresh. “Reggie” and Buck’s partnerships is one of my favorites. I just love how Reggie is jumping picture perfect over this massive table and how Buck is in the perfect balance. This is something to emulate!

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Kim Herslow and Rosmarin at the Pan Ams. Dressage riders are the most emotional riders as I came to find out at the Pan Ams. Kim took a moment after her test to give Rosmarin a hug, even among the loud cheering in the stadium.

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I turned around quickly and captured this shot of a rider during dressage day at Fair Hill. It’s my favorite event to go to, especially when the weather and fall foliage cooperates like it did this year!

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A lot has been said about Marilyn Little this year, but this photo captures the side of her I see when I interview her at competitions. RF Demeter is a special partner for her, and it showed after they won the Bromont CCI***.

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Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border standing off at Fair Hill. I love a photo of a good jumping horse, and “Crossy” sure looks scopey here! Kim is soft-spoken, but I love interviewing her because she’s so real. She’ll humbly admit how difficult it was to learn to ride this horse and it’s wonderful that they’re now on the same page (and getting results!).

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McLain Ward and Rothchild at the Pan Ams. This photo (in its’ original form here) was a little back lit, but our design team worked their magic, and it became my second ever cover shot! It’s also one of the rare shots of “Bongo” with her ears forward. McLain’s partnership with this fiery little horse is one of my favorites in show jumping.

August Catch Up

On August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 By Lindsay BerrethIn Bear, Oh So, TravelLeave a comment

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things got busy after my last post from Toronto.

Show jumping ended up with a jump-off for the medals and in the end, McLain Ward and Rothchild got the gold. I love that little horse and it’s McLain’s first medal. I somehow knew it would be his weekend when we got there and I’m glad I predicted right! I also got my second COTH cover ever out of it!

I had half a day to tour Toronto, so I went on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour and a boat tour of the islands and to see the skyline. I wish I’d had more time, but I got a great view of the city for next time. I think a vacation of Canada’s biggest cities is now on my bucket list.

Before I left for Toronto, I had a great gallop/cross-country school with Oh So that Sunday, but by the Wednesday before I left, he felt off. My trainer confirmed my fears when she tried riding him while I was gone and promptly asked my dad to take him to the vet at Morven Park.

He was diagnosed with some stress/wear and tear on his left deep digital flexor tendon sheath, so they injected it. He also flexed off on his right hind, even though he’d had hock injections 10 days before. They elected not to pursue the right hind until I got back.

We gave him two weeks off while I was gone and when I got back I walked him for a week up until Sunday when I tried trotting. He felt pretty good, but on Monday my trainer thought he still felt off, but maybe from the right hind. I rode him again tonight and I felt right hind also. Not bad, but it’s there.

I’m a little unsure right now as to what I should do. I think I’ll probably keep working in more trot work for a week or so, and if it’s not getting better by then, I’ll have to have the right hind checked out.

I think he aggravated the deep digital flexor with the gallop. He’d had a mysterious lameness back in April where we ultrasounded and saw some change in that area, but it was never called an actual injury. We gave him two weeks off, he came sound, and went on to do a dressage show and Waredaca, as well as a couple of gallops and cross-country schools.

I’m starting to believe that this is the beginning of the end for him, unfortunately. We tried so carefully to bring him back from his right front issue and had a few good months before little things kept happening. I’m not sure why he can’t keep it together, other than that he raced until he was 7. He’s the type of horse that seemed like he would go into his 20s, but his body is just not holding up.

It’s really hard for me to accept it because he’ll be my only horse once Bear is sold. If I have to do dressage for the rest of his career, I’d be OK with that, but I don’t want to give up jumping and I really don’t think he wants to either.

I thrive on having goals and achieving those goals through showing and it just doesn’t look like I’ll ever be able to make plans with him again.

I’m trying not to be a Debbie Downer about it all, but with each day that passes, I lose a little more hope.

As for Bear, he had a shoeing change while I was gone and is really feeling great about himself! He’s been quite forward and even a little 5-year-old-ish, which is kind of funny.

We took some glamour shots for his sales ad and he’s officially on the market. We took him to Gordonsdale for a cross-country school on Saturday and had the first person try him. I thought it went well, but’ll see what happens!

I’ve got a fairly quiet August until my vacation in September, then it’s full steam ahead with the AECs, moving myself and my horses and then Fair Hill. I’m hoping to enter Bear in another event for fun, maybe Marlborough in September, but it will depend on how everything goes.

2015-07-23 09.17.08-1 — Crazy wall jump for Pan Am show jumping.

2015-07-23 20.38.00-1 — Pachi the Pan Am mascot.

2015-07-24 13.40.16 — Pan Am flame in Toronto.

Checking In From Toronto!

On July 20, 2015July 20, 2015 By Lindsay BerrethIn TravelLeave a comment

OK, so I’m not actually in Toronto, but Orangeville, Ontario, covering the Pan American Games for COTH with my co-worker Lisa. The equestrian disciplines are being held at the Caledon Equestrian Park and it’s lovely, but we’re feeling a bit disconnected from the rest of the Pan Ams, most of which are held downtown.

I was a little hesitant leaving my horses behind for two weeks, but how could I pass up the opportunity to visit a city I’ve never been to? Who knew I’d be going to Canada twice in one year?

We arrived on Thursday July 9 and drove out to Orangeville, about an hour and a half from Toronto, to our AirBNB house. I’ve never used AirBNB before, but Lisa has, so I trusted her judgement! We actually met the family before they headed out the door so they could give us a tour. We’re in a neighborhood off the one main street in the town, but it’s quite a maze and both of us have nearly gotten lost when we go walking or running. Each house seems to have it’s own beautiful, unique landscaping too, so I can usually find my way back based on what flowers or sculpture they have in their front yard (is that normal for suburbia? Or is it just me?)

It is really bizarre living in someone’s home–sleeping in their bed, using their kitchen, sitting on their coach. I feel like I’m in an alternate suburban reality and I’m living someone else’s life, or maybe the life I could be living if I didn’t have horses (and in this alternate life, I also have a baby with baby proof cabinets. So annoying!)

When we come back to the house after a long day of work, we make dinner if we haven’t eaten out, do laundry, go walking through the neighborhood, watch TV…I can’t say I’m bored yet even with all that extra time I might be spending riding because of the mostly long days where we come home and want to crash.

Our first full day in Canada was spent finding the horse park, then driving to Toronto to get our press credentials validated at the MPC. It was sort of illogical to have to drive all the way back there because there was no satellite office near the horse park. We were advised not to drive into the city because of traffic, so we took a GoBus from a station about 45 minutes from our house. Well, the buses only run once every hour during the day and the trains only run at rush hour, so we had lots of waiting to do. It took about an hour on the air conditioned coach to get to Union Station where we then hailed a cab to get to the MPC. Our cab driver was super nice and helpful, find of like every Canadian we’ve come across so far!

We stopped inside the MPC, which was inside a convention center with lots of food, space to work, air conditioning, journalists from other sports…that was our one and only look because we have our own media center on the grounds of the horse park. It would have been fun to talk to other journalists. Ah well, the people we did meet who gave us our photo vests and swag were very nice.

We had a quick bite and made our way over to the Rogers Center where the opening ceremonies were held. Our seats were so-so, but we had the 300mm lens so we took a few photos without totally whacking people in the back of the head! Cirque Du Soleil performed basically a world dance party, then the athletes came out. We stayed until the United States came out, cheered, then walked back through town to catch the bus so we wouldn’t be too tired in the morning.

Things at the venue for dressage went fairly smoothly. There were lots of complaints about no live streaming, no food for the media, and not being allowed to bring certain items in through security, but otherwise it was lots of fun to watch Steffen Peters and Laura Graves do so well. The U.S. team won gold!

We only had the eventing jog on Thursday, but I went out to check out the cross-country course. It was beautifulyl built with lots of little Canadian touches and you could see quite a bit from one place. The jumps weren’t that big, but they were technical.

Eventing dressage day on Friday was fairly uneventful and a little bit of a letdown after watching Grand Prix dressage. Cross-country day was hot, about 87, but the local weather made it sound like it was the apocalypse with heat advisories. There was a bit of a breeze and some occasional cloud cover that made it bearable, but the walk to the media center, which was so far out of the way in the most illogical place, was tough. It was a safe day of sport with not too many scary rides.

Show jumping day was full of tension and my heart was beating in my chest each time a U.S. rider came in. It was down to the wire, but we got gold and Marilyn Little got individual gold.

The press conferences have been a bit disorganized, but I got what I needed for my magazine story, which I worked on all today. We’ve got jumping starting tomorrow through the end of the week, so that should be exciting. I haven’t covered a grand prix in awhile and we’ve got some heavy hitters coming up. We’re hoping to get back to Toronto to do the tourist thing on Friday and home on Sunday!

It’s been going by so fast and I can feel my riding muscles wasting away, but it’s been lots of fun so far. Maybe a tad hot, but certainly better than at home. Everyone we’ve met has been super friendly and it’s been interesting seeing a slice of daily life in Canada.