Winter 2024/2025 Issue

The News East Coast Horse Owners Need To Know OUR st YEAR 99 - PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 280 LANC., PA 17604 Vol. 31 No. 6 Winter 2024/2025 (Continued on page 21) By Suzanne Bush Some horses make a routine trail ride into an intractable con- test of wills. If you need to trailer to get to the ride, will he load calmly for the trip to the trail? Or will he stand there, stubbornly, as if planted in concrete, giving the trailer ramp the stink eye? Will she decide that today is the day when every squirrel will look like Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street? Horses, as everyone knows, are sentient creatures, and they have good days, bad days, and days when nothing seems to feel right. It can be arduous, and there is no shortage of distractions that can get between a rider and a great day in the saddle. Equestrians know that there are complications, and there are events that are just plain com- plicated. Such as, taking a horse on a 100-mile ride. In France. In a driving rain. In the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Endurance Championship for Seniors. A Hectic Mess Holly Corcoran, 61, of Stroudsburg, PA is one of the top Endurance riders in the world, and in 2020, she was ranked the Number 1 Endurance rider in the world. That is a testimony both to Corcoran’s competitive spirit and to her commitment to her horses. As she prepared for the 2024 FEI event, there was an exhaustive to-do list, from getting the veterinary records of Lorienn, her 12-year-old Arabian, to scheduling Lorienn’s flight, to arranging transport for Lorienn from Liege, Belgium to Chantil- ly, France and then to Monpazier, where the competition was held. And then there was the matter of arranging for temporary stabling in Chantilly for several days before heading to the venue. Holly Corcoran and Lorienn, her 12-year-old Arabian, weathered international flight changes, transpor- tation snafus and visa challenges, all on her own, to compete in the FEI World Endurance Championship for Seniors in France. The full time CPA and veteran endurance competitor navigated a dark, stormy 100 mile track and was one of only 45 of 118 competitors to finish. Photo credit: Terry Shampoe Corcoran Survives Flight Changes, Blinding Storm at World Endurance Championships It’s not like the Olympics, in which there are people who deal with all these pesky details. “Cargo flights have been absolutely crazy, with cancel- lations and rescheduling and redirecting,” she says. With the flight changes, Corcoran arrived about eight days earlier than she expected. “The entire trip was endur- ance,” she says. She recounted the ever-changing flight schedule that upended her planning. “Lori- enn was supposed to fly on the 27th, and then the 22nd, and then the 25th, (of August)”, she says. And at last, the schedule stopped meandering and Lorienn went out on the 20th. “It was challenging, not just because of the hectic mess,” she says. She is a CPA, and still working. “I brought my work with me and tried to juggle that as we were taking care of her.” She had the chance to watch the boarding process for the horses. It’s not like getting people on the plane. “I had never been part of the process before,” she says, reflecting on Lorienn’s unflappable demeanor. “That mare is rock solid.” The horses are loaded into individ- ual “stalls” on a pallet. “Once they had the pallet full, they are loaded onto a flatbed to get to the plane. It was a little bit heart-wrenching to watch,” she says. “But all the horses did fine.” Corcoran’s flight to Chantilly was the afternoon of the 20th, and she thought Lorienn would be there already. But there were more complications. “She landed in Liege, and then was supposed to be transported to Chantilly. It turned out that she had been picked up, the truck had prob- lems, and they had to get back to the airport. It was fortuitous because I was there to meet her in Chantilly by the time she arrived.” Corcoran and Lorienn arrived at the venue on the 4th of September, after spending several days at the stable in Chantilly. Inside... Holiday Gift Guide … pgs. 8-13 Get ready for winter with advice from the experts...pgs. 14-20 PLUS: Hay forecast, key event recaps, trouble at Parx and so much more!