Intercollegiate group cancels the rest of its season
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Another reason to go to the World Cup finals in Las Vegas
Verdades, the USA’s top dressage horse of the last six years, will be taking his last bows before his public at the 2020 FEI World Cup™ Finals in Las Vegas next month.
Diddy, whose retirement was announced in January, will appear in the Devoucoux Dressage Showcase on Friday afternoon Apri 17 before his formal retirement ceremony the next evening during intermission of the Grand Prix Freestyle.
Owner Laura Graves, who got the personable show ring star as a weanling and trained him up to international stardom, has ridden him to second place in the last three World Cup finals, to a team bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics and to team and individual silver at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games
Explaining her choice of Las Vegas for his retirement, Laura noted that “Diddy.has so many fans and I wanted to give as many of them as possible a chance to see him before his retiremen.
“He has performed on the world’s biggest stages and there really is no bigger stage than the World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, so this is really the perfect place for his formal retirement.”
In 2009, Brentina, the top U.S. dressage horse of the early part of the century, was retired in an emotional ceremony in Las Vegas. Brentina was ridden by Debbie McDonald, now the U.S. dressage technical advisor and Laura’s personal coach.
Laura Graves and her Verdades have a special relationship that enabled them to become worldwide stars. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
To order tickets, or for further information on the 2020 FEI World Cup™ Finals in Las Vegas, go to the event’s official website at www.WorldCupLasVegas.com.
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The Mayo clinic offers hope to Kevin Babington
Kevin Babington, paralyzed from a spinal cord injury after a fall last August, has been to the famed Mayo Clinic to be considered for a clinical trial, and that mission was accomplished, according to his wife, Dianna. That trial is phase two of a trial that had some positive results in phase one.
“We will need to return to Minnesota a few times this year. Once to get Adipose cells pulled, so stem cells can be cultured, and then back again for treatment once they are ready,” she said.
“The cells get put directly into the spinal cord. It’s a chance to boost his healing. It’s not a guarantee of anything, but we are still grateful for a chance. We will stay in Minnesota for a few weeks at that time. I will rotate with others because we will keep our business running.”
She explained, “What we accomplished while we were there was getting a handle on how to control/ manage the pain and spasticity Kevin deals with daily. We had great direction on medication combos and some techniques for pain management. He had medical evaluation from top to bottom and he remains in fantastic physical shape. No lung or bladder atrophy, no cardiac issues. We had some input on diaphragm strengthening and will purchase a small device out of the UK to make him stronger. He had a sleep study done and he literally didn’t sleep one minute. Slept like a log through both consultations (before and after the test) with the sleep doctor who thought that was quite funny.”
Dianna believes that at thsi time, her job is “to keep him in the best physical condition to prepare him for whatever recovery he is capable of obtaining. This way he will be in shape for the physical therapy demands that await after the treatments. The researchers said he was a great fit because he has the mental fortitude of an Olympic athlete and that the demands will be great once the trial starts.”
She noted that “spinal cord injury is not quiet paralysis. It is an arduous daily struggle of spasticity and pain. There are times the body just locks up or recoils in a way that bends you like a spoon and the contractions feel like a strap that is a close second to an Anaconda around his chest. It is hard to live with and hard to watch as a family member. Thank God for Wendy Coren and Barbara Foose, who work on him for relief.”
Dianna and her family and friends have put enormous effort into helping Kevin.
“There are days I feel so overwhelmed because the road seems too long and too difficult. Nothing is fast enough, nothing is guaranteed and it’s maddening and frightening. But then I look to Kevin and he is handling this like it’s just his job right now. He’s never cross or mean. Doesn’t bemoan his lot in life and just gets on with it.
“People say he is a role model… you have no idea. He is the true example of a Champion and a role model. I have not heard him complain once. Of course he’d rather not be paralyzed and we talk about many things but what is absent is the complaining. The most he says is how much he misses riding and how he hopes he can some day. Many of his friends can confirm that. He’s just patient and tolerant to a degree I can’t believe. I am so impressed with his ability to survive and to just move forward. I believe he is teaching so many to stay positive in the face of adversity so at least there is some good to be gained from such devastation.”
It’s time to make the table fences on cross-country safer
In the wake of the deaths of Canadian Katherine Morel and her thoroughbred, Kerry On, the U.S. Eventing Association’s chairman of cross-country safety says it’s time for action.
The mare and her rider were killed in a rotational fall at a table jump in the Intermediate section of the Rocking Horse event in Florida over the weekend.
While Jon Holling noted that the USEA and U.S. Equestrian Federation donate about $26,000 toward frangible technology grants directly to competitions, “it’s a really good start, but it’s not nearly enough.”
Here’s his appeal: “We need to raise some real money. We need to raise $500,000, so in three years’ time at Preliminary level and above, there are no longer tables on our courses that are not collapsible or frangible.”
As he notes, “it will take more than $500,000 in the end, but that’s a really good start and we need to get it done.” You can donate directly to the USEA, or via a group of eventers who are organizing a private fund. That money will be going directly to frangible technology.
“Let’s get this done. There’s no more excuses,” he insists.
While the federation and association manage a lot involved with this, he noted, “It’s not just up to them, it’s up to all of us. I’m tired of watching us die because we make a mistake, when there’s technology that will help. Let’s do it, so we don’t have to be jumping around over fences we know can be made safer.”
Get ready for tack sales
Are you cleaning out the tack room only to realize A) you have a lot of items you don’t need or B) there are things you do need. You’re in luck.
Spring is tack sale time, and several are gearing up in New Jersey to benefit worthy causes. They offer an especially good opportunity to outfit growing children.
Riding with Heart (Hunterdon Equine Assisted Recreation and Therapy) will hold its two-day sale this month. It gets under way March 28 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at 639 Route 513, Pittstown. On March 29, it runs from noon to 3 p.m., with most items on sale for half price.
Donate from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Call (908) 735-5912 before you come.
In April, Mane Stream, which offers adaptive riding lessons and therapy services to help improve quality of life for people with physical, developmental, emotional and medical challenges, is hosting a sale at 83 Old Turnpike Road in Oldwick.
The sale runs from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. April 4. Available will be new and used tack, riding apparel, blankets, stable equipment, and more, including brand name items, such as Ariat, Dover, Baker, Tailored Sportsman and Essex. Proceeds will benefit Mane Stream’s horses and therapy programs. To make a donation, if you need directions, or have any questions, contact: Holland@manestreamnj.org or (908) 439-9636 or go to www.ManeStreamNJ.org.
There’s more hope for Kevin Babington
Dianna Babington posted a heartfelt note about all she and Kevin have been through in terms of doubts and fears since a fall in a jumper competition left him paralyzed at the end of August. There is hope on the horizon now because Kevin will be traveling to the Mayo Clinic to see if that famed facility can help him.
After time in the hospital and at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, Kevin and his family went to their farm in Loxahatchee, Fla.
“When we left Kessler,” Dianna recalled, “I was truly sick and worried about coming home with Kevin in his condition with no real medical training. We have had moments where that anxiety has reared its head.
“He was hit with bronchitis, he had a few nights where I nearly called 911 because of blood pressure issues, pain, etc but as a family, we have trudged through it. I am finally feeling like I’m not going to fail. I make mistakes, but I don’t think I’ll miss something life- threatening. We also have a team of friends, an aide, and barn manager Elizabeth Sponseller, and they keep me centered and calm when I feel internal panic.”
She noted the number of people who are supporting Kevin and his family financially and emotionally are making an impact.
Dianna and Kevin Babington.
.”People tell me stories or that they pray two to three times a day and all of it matters. I was told by many medical doctors that recovery was “unlikely” and that is putting it mildly
“It sent me spiraling into depression because I felt like I couldn’t help. I hid it well (or at least I think I tried to).. To see Kevin struggling was and is hard. It’s harder than most can imagine on a daily basis, but this week, we’ve had a sign or two that we are right to have hope! He has reported feeling twitching in his thigh. First on the right, then days later on the left.
“It was brief, but it was real. He also got slight movement in his knee. It’s hard work for him but he is fighting. The spasms he fights make it hard, but he is tough and working through it. I believe the support from all who love him, family and friends, even the horse community at large that just want to send cards from all over the world is making a difference and keeping him positive.
“He also said he felt a twinge in his hamstring. It’s a sign that there is a connection for sure. He has no feeling in his lower body below his chest, but he is feeling these twinges. There is hope for improvement. Thank you to everyone who keeps “showing up.
Want to help Kevin? Tax-deductible donations via check may be sent to the Kevin Babington Foundation, 2402 Players Court,Wellington FL 33414. (To obtain bank instructions for wiring money, send an email to Debbie Welles at the kevinbabingtonfoundation@gmail.com.
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