"The recent exceptional rainfall has left the ground at Badminton totally waterlogged and partially flooded," Badminton director Hugh Thomas said.
EVENT SADLY CANCELLED The recent exceptional rainfall has left the ground at Badminton totally waterlogged and partially flooded. Further rain is due this week leaving no chance of the ground drying out. Very sadly therefore the 2012 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials has been cancelled.
Purchasers of advance tickets, exhibitors, Sponsors and riders will of course be refunded as soon as is practical.
Please pass on to as many people as you. Thank you!
The event will not be rescheduled, with the announcement confirming the first cancellation since 1987. It was also called off in 1975, 1966 and 1963.
Having now won Burghley 2011 and Rolex Kentucky 2012 on Parklane Hawk, William Fox- Pitt is now in with a good chance of securing eventings biggest prize, the £220,000 Rolex Grand Slam at this year's Badminton Horse Trials.
The Grand Slam is awarded for consecutive Burghley, Kentucky and Badminton victories in any order and has previously been won by only one other rider, Pippa Funnell.
Watch the 2012 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Champion, William Fox-Pitt interview.
You can walk the Rolex Kentucy 2012 cross country course with eventing legend Jim Wofford, cross-country course designer Derek di Grazia, and five-time Rolex Kentucky competitor Hawley Bennett-Awad.
and if you have time you can watch the whole event on USEF NETWORK with their video on demand service.
Audi together with the HPA, polo's governing body, have created a new Audi International Polo Series for 2012. This is to include an international event (formerly the Cartier International) at Guards Polo Club, Windsor (22 July); the established international at Beaufort Polo Club in Gloucestershire (16 June); and the brand new international at Chester Racecourse Polo Club (8 September).
In 1933 F. Scott Fitzgerald ended a letter to his 11-year-old daughter, Scottie, with a list of things to worry about, not worry about, and simply think about. It read as follows.
Things to worry about:
Worry about courage Worry about cleanliness Worry about efficiency WORRY ABOUT HORSEMANSHIP
Things not to worry about:
Don’t worry about popular opinion Don’t worry about dolls Don’t worry about the past Don’t worry about the future Don’t worry about growing up Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you Don’t worry about triumph Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault Don’t worry about mosquitoes Don’t worry about flies Don’t worry about insects in general Don’t worry about parents Don’t worry about boys Don’t worry about disappointments Don’t worry about pleasures Don’t worry about satisfactions
Things to think about:
What am I really aiming at? How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:
(a) Scholarship (b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them? (c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?
Mario A. Contreras, a Friesian, an Andalucian & a little girl. On the biography page of the website it states that it was clear to Mario from childhood that he wanted to train horses, I wonder if this little girl will be following in his footsteps - she certainly has a head start.
RSPCA inspectors rescue a mare and her foal from the approaching tide on the Loughor Estuary marshland in Gower, South Wales, after the pony's back hoof became caught in a matted tangle of her mane.
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A spectacular open-air theatrical production of the iconic book Black Beauty is set to tour the UK this summer at some of the most magnificent Heritage and country houses in Britain. This is the first time that the hugely popular Anna Sewell novel, which has sold over 50 million copies world-wide, has ever been adapted for the stage.
The 27 date tour will be appearing at 15 of the of the most prestigious and beautiful estates in England and Scotland, beginning at Woburn Abbey on July 7th and 8th, and will travel the length and breadth of the UK, from Scone Castle in Scotland to Prideaux Place in Cornwall. Other venues include Althorp House, Castle Howard, Lulworth Castle, Berkeley Castle,
Hagley Hall, Avington Park, Capesthorne Hall, Holker Hall, Finchcocks, Ingatestone Hall and Manderston before its grand finale at Harewood on August 26th. Tickets for all shows will go on sale on Friday March 30th at 9.00am (ticket details below).
Produced by award-winning BBC Playwright Susannah Daley and PEEL Heritage, the story has been carefully adapted by James Stone in order to bring to life the story of one of the world’s most famous fictional horses. The production boasts the creative input of costume designer Hayley Neil, who has worked on and for, amongst others, Pussy Cat Dolls, Luc Besson, Walking with Dinosaurs, The Kings Speech and most recently the acclaimed Animal Farm production at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. This unique 2 ¼ hour production applies the technology and craft of modern theatre, whilst retaining the essential spirit of the original novel. The stage set has been carefully designed to incorporate the stunning backdrops and surroundings of the historical venues in which it will be performed.
Black Beauty was written in 1877 and was the only published novel of Anna Sewell who died 5 months after it was first printed. Although a favourite with children around the world, it was not written as a children’s book but as a tale to bring attention to the mistreatment of working horses at the time. This ground-breaking novel was the first to be written from an animal’s perspective and is recognised today as playing a key role in the launch of the Animal Welfare Movement. It has been adapted for film and television many times over the past century, but has never before been transformed into a live theatre show.
The new production concentrates on the core elements of the story, following Beauty’s close relationship with the Gordon family and, in particular, with Flora Gordon. Narrated by Black Beauty, the play covers his idyllic early life, through to his darkest days as a brutally treated London cab horse and his experiences working in the mines. Along the way he meets many equine friends from very different backgrounds who each tell their own poignant stories about life as a working horse in Victorian times, before he is eventually happily reunited with Flora.
The production is a visual feast with many stunning and carefully created scenes. Highlights include the famous race scene at Epsom, in which the audience take part, a dramatic mine explosion scene and a flashback tale from an old War horse remembering his time in the Crimean War. Neil’s highly unique and specially-created head costumes, combined with meticulous choreography and stage sets, enable the actors to truly inhabit their equine characters and for the first time bring the story to life theatrically.
Speaking about the tour, Producer Susannah Daley said: ”Black Beauty is a timeless story, which continues to sell and be taught in schools throughout the world. One of the biggest challenges in staging the production was how to bring the horses to life and also allow them to be them to be the central story. Modern design, technology, choreography and theatrical production techniques have enabled us to bring the story to a contemporary audience without losing the core essence of the book.”
UK TOUR DATES
JULY
July 7th/8th Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire
July 11th/12th Finchcocks, Kent
July 14th Holker Hall, West Midlands
July 17th/18th Ingatestone Hall, Essex
July 20/21st Althorp House, Northamptonshire
July 24th Manderston
July 26th/27th Castle Howard, Yorkshire
July 31 Prideaux Place, Padstow, Cornwall
AUGUST
August 1st Prideaux Place, Padstow, Cornwall
August 4th/5th Avington Park, Hampshire
August 9th/10th Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire
August 12th Lulworth Castle, Dorset
August 15th/16th Hagley Hall, West Midlands
August 18th/19th Scone Castle, Perth, Scotland
August 23rd/24th Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
August 26th Harewood, Yorkshire
TICKET DETAILS:
Prices: £10 for children, £15/£14.50 with concession, £18.95/£18.00/£16.50 for adults and £55/£50/£48 for family tickets.
The 2012 Aintree Grand National is all over bar the safety debates following the sad fatalities of Synchronised and According to Pete. As we all now know the winner was the 11-year old, 33-1 long shot, Neptune Collonges.
In this video interview, prior to the race, John Hales, Neptune Collonges ' owner, talked about his decision to run his horses in the race. A very emotional decision as the family had previously lost a horse at Aintree in 1998.
"I just wish to God I'm going home tonight with two fit horses"
