The Golightly Library 

Cherie's Original Works (Helpful Hints & Advice)

Inspired by questions from students and friends, I have started to put together some information on eventing.  As I hear more questions, I will try to add to these resources.  Please let me know if there is something you would like to know about...

Times and Distances - Comparing Horse Trials, the Classic Long Format, and the new Short Format (1 page word document)

The Classic Long Format - An A-B-C-D Breakdown (1 page word document)

Jumping 101 (approximately 6 pages, with pictures)  

The Levels of Eventing Cheat-Sheet (1 page word document)

A Few Details About Eventing (5 page word document)
    What is the difference between a Horse Trial and a Three Day Event?
     Where do the big events fall into the various levels?
     What makes the various Horse Trial levels so different?
     How much dressage does an event horse have to do?

Dressage is in the Details (3 page word document)
     11 helpful hints for success in your dressage test!

Cherie's Favorites (Articles & Reference Material)

Dressage Attire & Equipment - USEF publication, updated March 2009 (this is an excellent handbook, but be sure to check the 2010 rules if in doubt!)

Where to Look Before Jumping - Jim Wofford (with Elizabeth Iliff), Practical Horseman.  The type of fence determines where you need to focus your eye to help both you and your horse execute the best jump.

The Starting Box - A guide to your first event.  Published by the USEA (first published in 1988 by the USCTA), this is a must read for all "would-be" event riders (or as we might say today - wannabes!).

Horse Slaughter: An Unnecessary Evil.  Report commissioned in 2002 by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, Inc. to assess available data surrounding the debate about horse slaughter.  And a 2007 Q&A article about "unwanted horses" and the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.  If you think you know what the debate is all about - you might be surprised at what you learn!

Lucinda Green Weighs In On The One-Fall Rule.  Here is a letter from Lucinda to Great Britain's Horse & Hound magazine, reprinted on the USEA website.  Lucinda articulates my exact thoughts and I applaud her for finally saying what (I hope) many of us have been thinking.

Eventing Lives in the Balance - an insightful article by Jim Wofford about the relationship between dressage, show jumping and cross country jumping.

Words to Live By... 

"You do not rise to the occassion, you sink to the level of your training"
Jim Wofford, 2009 USEA Convention, credited to a martial arts book

"Don't ride faster than you or your horse can think.  I want you to always feel composed in life and in riding.  Be deliberate and thoughtful."
Quote of Joe Fargis, Practical Horseman (December 2009)

"Horses do not rate very highly on the scale of animal intelligence, but they have an incredibly keen sense of fairness, and they do not know how to lie.  If you want a partner in the show ring, you'd better act like a partner at home!"
Article by Anne Gribbons, USDF Connection (November 2009)

"Henk [van Bergen] likes independent students who can ride correctly on their own.  He says noisy teachers in the warm up at shows are promoting themselves.  An independent rider doesn't need a noisy teacher."
Article by Deri Jeffers in PVDA newsletter (March 2009) 

"When you get right down to it, if we trade this sport for a knitting club, it will be just a matter of time before someone falls on a knitting needle."
Darren Chiacchia, Chronicle of the Horse (27 June 2008), discusses the sport of eventing following his catastrophic fall in March. 

"Advice offered in the following pages is set against the certain knowledge that there will always be some situation where the reverse applies.  'If there is one rule with horses, it is that there are no rules.'"
Lucinda Green, Cross-Country Riding (1986) 

Regarding changes in dressage expectations in eventing: "...back in the 70's if you had a non-aggression pact with your horse and you changed gear at the appropriate marker and you made it look sort of smooth you were in the top 10."
Captain Mark Phillips, Sidelines, (May 2008)