A sampling of the Rolex Kentucky CCI4* Trade Fair

I took a stroll around the Trade Fair today at the 2014 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover. There are so many great things for sale, from functional to frivolous, luxurious to downright silly. There's something for everyone, and I thought I'd share a sampling of the wares in the main trade fair area. I still haven't had a chance to check out the official event merchandise, but from the emails I've received, they have some really great high-end logo gear this year from brands like Joules, Barbour and Eddie Bauer. It might be time to hide the credit card....

Fun and stylish Antares helmets

Ariat boots in every size, color and style

Horsey Garden Accessories

Kid Stuff. Adorable, expensive kid stuff. Just walk away...

Fun little pony puppets

Gorgeous saddles

How I love shiny things...

Plantation Field update from Eric Bull

Mike Etherington-Smith and Eric Bull at Plantation Field. Photo by Katie Walker

It’s been a busy start to the spring, with lots of planning going on. About a month ago we walked around Plantation Field with Mike Etherington-Smith, who’s taking over as course designer after Denis Glaccum. Mike planned a new 3* track and it starts and ends in a different spot and uses the terrain in a different way. It feels like a good track; it’s not an easy piece of property, because it can be steep in places, but I think he did a good job of winding the track up and down and back up. Bringing in a new designer always brings new energy and new ideas.

I think the big emphasis this year is to reseed and roll the footing and get a really good galloping track without the bumps and issues people have complained about in the past. Phillip Dutton commented the other day that this needs to be as good as any European track and I think that’s the standard we’re aiming for. Honestly, Plantation and Fair Hill are as close as anything in the US to British standards – both have good topsoil and a fair bit of rainfall. It’s not easy to turn something like the Sandhills of NC into “European” type footing, but up here we’re pretty close.

Jamie Hicks is committed to doing all the tractor work; he rolled the track all day after it rained, which takes all the bumps and rolls out of it. It’s a 170 horsepower tractor and the roller weighs ten to fourteen thousand pounds – this isn’t gardening, it’s big stuff!

As far as jumps go, there’s going to be quite a bit to build for the one, two and three-stars. Right now we have the track, a new water jump and a ditch figured out. Mike E-S is coming over again in May or June, once the dirt work is done, to talk about what specific fences look like, what we have and what we need. It’s a good way to do it because it’s a little hard for all of us to get our heads wrapped around everything at once. It’s a nice luxury to take it in steps.

I’ve been there all week setting up the basic horse trials stuff, putting out portables, repairing anything that’s broken and making sure everything is up to height and up to standard, and I’ll be there again this weekend while they event takes place.

-Eric

Farrier Jam Sessions

A farrier "Jam Session" at Dr. Bibi Freer's Farm in Tryon, NC

All too often there is a disconnect between veterinarians and farriers, while the soundness of the horse really relies on open communication and a partnership between these two important people in the horse’s life. Dr. Bibi Freer, DVM of Tryon, NC has started an ongoing program at her farm with vets and farriers coming together to discuss specific horses and their soundness issues, and to work together to solve them. 

A group of farriers

 Dr. Freer first got the idea from Dr. Jim Meeker, of Mocksville, NC, a vet that she has known for a while and sometimes trades clients with. Dr.  Meeker has held meetings for about five years, and one day while Dr. Freer was working on some donkeys with a farrier who had been to one of Dr. Meeker’s meetings, he  started telling her about it. She thought it sounded like fun, so she tagged along to the next session.

“It was 2010 I think, March or April, and I jumped in the truck with a group of farriers and went to Dr. Meeker’s meeting; on the way home we decided we wanted to do that too,” she says. “In my humble opinion I think we’ve improved on the idea. He charges the horse owner $50 and they buy fried chicken or something. I talked to the guys here and they didn’t really care about dinner; we charge the owner $200, which is still a great deal. For a consultation like this they’d usually spend more like $500.”

So the horse owner pays $200 and brings their horse to Dr. Freer’s barn, where a group of vets and farriers assesses the horse’s legs and feet, they do a series of radiographs, and discuss different ways to shoe the horse to improve soundness.

My dad Hank Heintzberger, who is a local farrier and has worked with Dr. Freer on occasion, has sponsored, or recommended, a couple of horses with soundness issues for the sessions and has been attending the meetings regularly for a few years now. 

Hank Heintzberger looks on as Luke Proulx discusses a horse

“For $200 the horse owner gets the horse shod, as many x-rays as they want, and the opinions of a large group of experts. You can’t get a better deal than that. Also, Bibi follows up with the horse’s owner later, and it’s always nice to know the long-term outcome for each horse,” he says.

Dr. Freer says, “I’ll reimburse the farrier for the supplies he used that night. Sometimes they use a special pad or a pour and it’s more like $20 or $30 out of their pocket. But nobody makes and money on the night – it’s all about exchanging ideas and seeing what the feet look radiographically.”.

They have also been able to afford clinics with several world-class farriers: Grant Moon and Luke Proulx have already conducted clinics and Craig Trnka is coming May 9-11. He’ll do a day of Powerpoint presentations, then two days of hands-on work with a limited group of farriers and vets. 

Hank says, “Grant Moon is probably the number one farrier in the world, and the clinic with him was insane, it was so good. You can’t just call these guys up; you have to book them in advance, so having this group has given us some really exciting opportunities.”

A finished shoeing job

 Dr. Freer set up an online group to communicate with everyone and says they have about 15 veterinarians on the list. “Usually there are 3-5 veterinarians – the most we ever had was 8 – and farriers range from 8-20. There are probably 50 on the list, but they can’t all come every time.”

While Dr. Meeker invites the horse-owning public to his meetings, Dr. Freer decided to limit their sessions to vets and farriers, partly due to limited space in Dr. Freer’s barn, and partly so the conversations between the vets and farriers will be more frank.

It is interesting to note that the local Isothermal Community College is starting an equestrian program in the fall.  “This coming Saturday myself and five of the core guys who come to the meetings the most often are going to recreate a farrier jam session,” says Dr. Freer, who also has a passion for Bluegrass music. “We’re just going to do one horse and we’re going to have about 15 people come. That’s a pretty good sign there’s a more interest in what we’re doing.”

 Photos courtesy Bibi Freer