Raydiance Eventing

05/28/2026

I’m looking forward to seeing the results of this study!

The use of equestrian safety vests has become common practice, but when it comes to their efficacy, hard data is sorely lacking. That will soon change.

A scientific study launching under the FEI’s Equestrian Safety Vest Working Group will examine rider falls through comprehensive video analysis, assess how different vest styles and combinations affect riders’ range of motion, and develop a computer simulation to better understand how safety vests protect riders during falls.

Read more about the effort at the link in comments.

📸 Sportfot

05/20/2026

Kitty O’Shea, our Hawkwood matriarch, turns 30 today. She still walks like a supermodel, loves her pampering sessions, and stays healthy on a custom-mixed mush diet. May we all age so gracefully!

05/19/2026

Annie recommends spending some time at the pool to beat the heat this week!

05/15/2026

Noooooo 😭😭😭

After seven locations announced closures earlier this week, Dover Saddlery retail stores across the country have alerted customers that they are shutting their doors. Read more at the link in comments.

05/08/2026

A recent study from the University of Tennessee provided strong support for something trainers, movement specialists, and bodyworkers have observed for years:

Ground poles significantly increase activation of important postural and core muscles in horses.

What the Study Found

Walking over ground poles increased activity in:

• Longissimus dorsi — a major topline and spinal support muscle
• Abdominal muscles — critical for core stability and support of the spine

Even at the walk, poles require the horse to:

• Lift the limbs higher
• Stabilize the trunk more actively
• Organize posture and balance with greater precision
• Continuously adjust limb placement and timing

At the trot, researchers also found increased activation of the abdominal muscles.

Trotting over poles requires greater dynamic stabilization, and the increased limb elevation demands more coordinated control of the trunk, pelvis, and spine.

What This Means

These findings support the long-standing use of cavaletti and ground poles as a low-impact way to:

• Strengthen the topline
• Improve abdominal engagement
• Support spinal stability
• Enhance proprioception and coordination
• Encourage improved posture and self-carriage
• Develop better movement organization through the whole body

One of the most important aspects of pole work is that it influences both sides of the postural system:

• The dorsal chain — including the longissimus muscles along the back
• The ventral chain — including the abdominal support system

This balance is essential for efficient movement, force transfer, and development of a healthy, functional topline.

But pole work is not only muscular.

It is neurological.

Each pole creates a movement problem the horse must solve in real time.

The horse has to:

• Judge distance
• Adjust stride length
• Control timing
• Stabilize the trunk
• Organize the limbs in space
• Adapt moment-to-moment to changing demands

That process requires attention, coordination, body awareness, and ongoing nervous system regulation.

In many horses, poles appear to improve focus not simply because the horse is “behaving,” but because the nervous system is becoming more engaged and organized around the task.

Pole work may also influence neurological tone — the background level of muscular and nervous system readiness that affects posture, movement quality, stiffness, and coordination.

For some horses, this can help reduce excessive bracing and improve adaptability through the body.
For others, it can help improve postural engagement and overall organization.

Why It Matters

Regular pole work can benefit many types of horses:

• Young horses developing coordination and posture
• Performance horses improving strength, agility, movement quality, and limb awareness
• Horses rebuilding core control and stability after periods of weakness or reduced work
• Older horses maintaining mobility, coordination, and movement confidence

Importantly, many of these benefits occur even at the walk, making poles accessible to horses across a wide range of ages, disciplines, and fitness levels.

Rather than simply “making horses pick up their feet,” poles appear to challenge the nervous system, postural system, sensory system, and muscular system together — encouraging the horse to organize movement with greater control, awareness, and adaptability.

https://koperequine.com/step-by-step-the-benefits-of-walk-poles-for-horses/

05/08/2026

When they’re still feral at 5* 🤪🤪🤪

For the first time in her career, Laura Collett called upon the services of a hunt horse to es**rt her to the dressage warm-up at the 2026 Mars Badminton Horse Trials today (8 May).

“I’ve never been es**rted up here before, but I’ve seen other people do it and I thought, yeah, let’s try that – anything to make it safe,” said Laura, who was riding Yvonne Ferguson’s home-bred mare, Bling.

“I said to Tilly [Laura’s travelling groom], that there aren’t many horses that scare me, but she does, because when she sees red, the red mist comes, and there’s no thought process in what she’s doing, and she just, she bolts.”

Find out more about how Laura manages Bling, and how they got on during the first phase ahead of tomorrow’s cross-country, via link in comments.

05/05/2026

Love this

A new way to get started in eventing is on the horizon 👀

The USEA Board has officially approved an Intro Level—designed to welcome more riders and horses into the sport and create a stronger foundation for the future. Get the full information in the article in the comments below 👇

What do you think about this new addition?

04/28/2026

Remi appreciates a pre-workout snack

04/27/2026

Sad part of our culture these days. Working hard isn’t enough anymore.

About 15 months ago, I wrote an article for the Plaid Horse Magazine discussing the rising cost of being an equestrian, Katie Bowersox writes. After writing that article, I finally found a farm that accepted me and worked with what I could give. At 23, I was working on Sundays, doing turnout and cleaning stalls, in exchange for a few rides and a lesson when my trainer was available. Now, at 24, just over a year later, I have a new job where I make almost $20,000 more than before, and I’ve been priced out of riding altogether.

While losing my unicorn barn situation was entirely my personal choice, I thought taking a new job with such a big raise would make it all a wash, even though I’d be moving to a new city. I thought surely I would be able to afford a half lease or even a lesson program. Imagine my shock when I found out the standard lesson in my area was $125/ hour, or that board would range from $2,000-$3,500, not including lessons. Even by working all my overtime hours and picking up extra shifts, I wouldn’t be able to afford time in the tack.

I can’t help but look back and wonder, “Where did I go wrong?” Maybe moving to my dream city meant giving up on my dreams of riding. After all, I picked an expensive city, and I knew that when I moved here.

I initially had hope when I got to Miami; I had found a wonderful farm that needed an extra rider to get all of the horses ridden in a day. It seemed like the equestrian world still had a place for me. But then they moved further south, had more pasture space, and with that, more time to ride their own horses, and my rides dried up. I was back to square one again.

That cycle would continue. Take a trial lesson, talk about my options with the head trainer, realize they had nothing within my budget, and tell them to let me know if any new opportunities open up. I never heard from any of them again.

Maybe this is just how it is meant to end for me, with a horse-shaped hole in my chest that can’t be filled by anything else. While I spend my days reading book after book for my book club, I ignore all of the novels written by Natalie Keller Reinert that sit on my shelves, cruel reminders of the world I can’t afford to be a part of.

I do my best to scroll past the WEF photos on Instagram without feeling envious. I skip the TikToks of people training their horses at home. I keep reading The Plaid Horse, but now I take my time, as each article is a cruel reminder that I have opinions about a world I cannot afford to have a voice in.

Even now, as I sit here writing this article, I am taking breaks mid-sentence because the screen gets blurry through my tears as I face a harsh reality I have been ignoring: I cannot afford my only dream.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/04/27/a-horse-shaped-hole-what-happens-when-you-cant-afford-to-ride/
📸 courtesy of Katie Bowersox