We launched WINNINGEDGE in February 2007 and nearly had a Badminton competitor just two months later. Unfortunately Cindy Rawson's Davey had a bad accident a few days before the event and had to withdraw. So
we were delighted to have three riders and four horses using WINNINGEDGE at this year's event. Of course the only people that approach us at the moment are those with problem horses so we are not likely to have a Badminton winner
for a few years yet. The real issue is have we helped the horses who are on WINNINGEDGE. The answer is a clear yes.The first highlight for us is that all four horses finished. Not a bad performance in such a gruelling
competition where 1/3rd of starters failed to complete for one reason or another. And I'm sure the average age of our four horses was well above the average for the whole field. Here are some of our other highlights:
MIDNIGHT DAZZLER (Harry Meade)
* Best ever Badminton result (13th)
* Best ever 4* dressage score (penalty points) providing evidence that the concentration and training benefits of WINNINGEDGE continue for months and
possibly years even in an old horse
* Dazzler's best ever position after the dressage at Badminton further supporting the above assertion
* Near perfect cross country (8th fastest and fastest of the late starting competitors in the sticky ground) providing evidence that WINNINGEDGE helps with endurance and stamina
* Best placed 18 year old horse
* Best placed under 25 year old rider
FOX ON THE RUN (Richard Jones)
Richard started using WINNINGEDGE Gold just two months before Badminton primarily to improve Fox's concentration when jumping in big arenas. Since starting on WINNINGEDGE Fox has had no fences down in his two warm up events.
* Richard completed his first ever Badminton (48th)
* 16th best show jumping performance at Badminton - this year he maintained his concentration much better than expected
* Really gutsy cross country round (Fox on the Run had been eliminated XC in his only other 4* - Burghley in 2006)
BIRTHDAY NIGHT (Harry Meade)
Birthday Night only went onto WINNINGEDGE about a month before Badminton.
* Birthday Night's best ever 4* dressage performance
* Spectacular cross country performance finishing just 3 seconds over time despite an unfortunate run out at fence 15 (where Clayton Fredericks fell) - one of the three
most influential obstacles on the course)
EASE ON FIRE (Joe Meyer - New Zealand)
New Zealand's Olympic hopeful, Joe Meyer, already had three horses that had met the qualification requirements for Hong Kong but he was still keen to add a fourth horse to the options for the selectors to choose from.
Ease on Fire had already proven he had the talent (19th Burghley 2005) so Joe was keen to put in a solid performance at Badminton to impress the selectors and achieve the
Olympic qualification standard. However Ease on Fire could be a sensitive horse and sometimes found the pressure slightly overwhelming when faced with loud noises and flags.
With three week's to go to the big event the team at Churchill Stud decided that Ease on Fire may have an improved chance of producing a top performance if he was being supplemented with WINNINGEDGE Gold.
The normal loading period for this unique and comprehensive supplement is 4-5 weeks so, in consultation with EquiFeast, the manufacturers, a 'power loading' process was
developed. Four times a day Ease on Fire was syringe fed a half loading quantity of WINNINGEDGE Gold. So every day he was actually getting twice the standard loading
amount. The plan to split this over four feeds was to give the digestive system the maximum opportunity to absorb the nutrients from the product. At the same time the horse was taken off his long-standing magnesium supplement.
Four days into the regime Joe was reporting improvements in Ease on Fire's behaviour and confidence and these continued as Badminton approached.
The first real test was the dressage and Ease on Fire performed his best ever 4* dressage test. With a late draw he ran cross country when the ground was getting very sticky, but
completed an excellent clear round with just 16.8 time penalties.
Ease on Fire is normally an excellent jumper but sometimes has a momentary lack of
concentration in front of a fence which can lead to a pole down in the show jumping. This can cause his stress levels to rise and he may struggle to recover his composure. He had a
pole at Badminton but Joe says that within a couple of paces he recovered his composure and got his mind right back onto the job.
Asked how he felt about the effect of WINNINGEDGE Gold the understated Joe said
"Not too bad". His wife Deborah said "Delighted".
So now the New Zealand selectors have four of Joe's horses to choose from. At the time
of writing we don't know what they will decide but we do know that Joe's number one horse Snip (7th at Badminton 2007) is also going onto WINNINGEDGE Gold before the Games! |
