Even in the heat of an early summer it sure seems there is a lot going on in our sport! I was busy all winter and spring with the Professional Horsemen’s Council. Following the Red Hills Horse trials and Kentucky, I was very active in drafting the statements released by the PHC. The final products approved and published by the Council weren’t exactly my own sentiments, but they did incorporate the very well considered opinions of twenty top professionals. Getting twenty people to agree on anything is nearly impossible and I was proud of the work the Council did. I believe releasing the statements was a first in this country — to my knowledge no organized group of professional riders has ever composed and published an opinion statement following a major incident in eventing. For those who haven’t read the statements, I encourage you to do so. The statements can be found on the USEA website.

Earlier this spring I also worked with Boyd Martin, Allison Springer, Mara Dean and Laura VanderVliet to answer questions on the Chronicle of the Horse bulletin board. It was an interesting experience and, in conjunction with my work on the PHC, highlighted for me the growing gap between recreational and professional eventing. Over the spring Laura VanderVliet and I hosted four meetings of professional riders. At each we found unanimous support for the establishment of a group outside of the current organizations with the sole purpose of advocating on behalf of professional riders. The challenge now is how to make such a group a reality.

The big picture of eventing aside, we have moved Craig Thompson Eventing to summer quarters in Middleburg, Virginia. In addition to Sara Siegel and Lisa Malek, who have ridden with me for some time now, Jody Romeo, Kate Lokey and Miranda Nelson have joined us for varying lengths of time to train and compete. Middleburg in June is a lot like Aiken in February with an event every week. There’s plenty of riding to do if we don’t melt first!