Raydiance Eventing

Anyone forget where they put their horses? They’re at the Lost and Found. 🤪

🚨 UPDATE: Owners located! Thank you to all who assisted. 🙏

Original post:
FOUND: Two Horsin’ Around! 🐴🐴

Early this morning, two Arabian-Cross horses were found checking out the sights near Mill Road and Santa Maria Drive.

Fortunately for us, Corporal Houser and Dispatcher Adam were on the case. As our resident equestrians, they utilized their tactical horse-whispering skills and safely secured the pair. Thanks to their years of training and a very generous neighbor who provided emergency housing, the horses are safe, sound, and currently living their best life.

🐎 If these beautiful horses belong to you, or you know who the owner, please call the Novato Police Department at 415-897-4361.

Thank you to the community member for helping us round ‘em up and to our community for sharing this post!

Great work all around! 🙏

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

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!

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.

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/

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.