Cool pics and Kyle Carter and Sharon White - the long lost interview

First, a cool story about a saddle pad bought to benefit Boyd.

This is Jennifer Pavlinich's horse Buggers (I suppose that's his barn name) showing off his new Ecogold XC pad. Jennifer bought one of the six original pads in memory of the horses lost in the fire. 

Buggers with his "Boyd pad", as we call them here.

What is really special, is that she will use the saddle pad for the first time, this Wednesday at the Boyd Martin Clinic at White North Stable and South Farm in Ohio (clinic info here). How fitting is that?

Then, a couple of pics from our Canadian-sponsored rider based in France, Mathieu Boisselier. He got a sponsorship from Volvo and just received his flashy new ride. Go Canada! (or I should say "Allez le Canada!). Mathieu is planning to compete in the 2* at Pau.

Nice wheels!

The guy in front has a view of the Maple Leaf. Love it!

Third, cool pic here - sent by Trish Bosch and published on our Horse Junkies United blog.

And to conclude this mix-and-match blog post, I have no idea how this happened, but I forgot to upload this interview from Bromont. Here are two of the most fun riders I know: Kyle Carter and Sharon White. Enjoy!

Congrats to our PR agent Amber Heinztberger on her new arrival!

Heinztberger baby #2... pic from Amber

Amber Heinztberger is our PR agent, who we share with Ecogold sponsored-rider Boyd Martin (he found her first), Kristin Schmolze and many others... 

All her clients and friends (including moi) have been waiting impatiently for the past few days as the due date came and went... but the baby was staying put.  We could not be more thrilled to see that he's finally decided to come out.

Big congrats to Amber and her husband Juergen!

and... Welcome to the world little one!

Ecogold-riders Hawley Bennett, Jessica Phoenix, Rebecca Howard and Kyle Carter are going to Burghley

Ah...Burghley (pic from our 2009 trip)

Well... we knew Equine Canada would give four grants for riders to compete at the 2011 Burghley Horse Trials and the riders have just been confirmed today. 

All four selected are Ecogold-riders:

• Hawley Bennett on Gin & Juice
• Jessica Phoenix on Exponential
• Rebecca Howard on Riddle Master
• Kyle Carter on Madison Park

Congrats and good luck!!!! 

We went to Burghley in 2009 and there were only 2 Canadian riders competing at the time. It's fantastic to see the progress of the Canadian Team since then (maybe it has to do with some saddle pads they've been using....lol!)

Here's our video of Kyle at Burghley in 2009.

Show Jumping Puissance 2.19m London 1980 - before our saddle pads were born...

Found this amazing puissance video from 1980. Gary Gillespie and Goldfink going over a 2.19 meter wall (that's 7.16 feet!)  in a saddle pad that looks very similar to our Forward Flap Hunter Pad (the one McLain Ward rides in..)

Gary Gillespie - Goldfink - Puissance 2.19m London 1980 

And then, there's this...

$8,032.50 Can you believe it????

$8, 032.50 - Ok that's HUUUUUUUGE. A big Thank You to everyone who bought a saddle pad and who sent us emails etc.. Your generosity & kindness is a blessing and it will be imprinted in our minds for a very long time. (And thank you for your patience as we struggle with delays in delivery...doing the best we can to get those pads out asap).

Here's the official Press Release from the wonderful Amber Heintzberger, who is about to have a baby any minute now...

Ecogold raises over $8,000 to help Boyd Martin

Following the devastating fire that killed six horses at True Prospect Farm in West Grove, PA on May 31, 2011, resident trainer and four-star event rider Boyd Martin’s sponsor ECOGOLD decided to take action and start a fundraiser to benefit Martin’s recovery efforts.

Initially ECOGOLD donated six saddle pads, one in memory of each horse that died in the fire. The response was so positive – all six saddle pads were sold within an hour – the company offered an unlimited number of saddle pads for sale over five days, during which 50% of the proceeds would be donated to Martin.

 "As soon as we put those six saddle pads online, we were overwhelmed,” said Patricia Da Silva of ECOGOLD. “It was a huge wave of generosity; I've never seen anything like it in my life. Orders were coming in left and right, from all parts of the world: dressage riders, hunter-jumper riders and eventers came together to help a fellow rider. We were still getting orders at 11:59 pm on the last day of the fundraising sale. It was unbelievable and for us at ECOGOLD, quite overwhelming."

Jennifer Pavlinich, who ordered one of the original six saddle pads, said, “When word first came out about the fire at True Prospect Farm, my first thought - after I could form coherent thought that is – was, ‘How can I help?’ As soon as I saw that ECOGOLD was donating saddle pads to help Boyd, I jumped on it. I wanted to help, and it didn't hurt that I'd been drooling over the Ecogold pads for a while now - I just couldn't justify spending the money.  But spending the money to help a truly great horseman through such a difficult time, and get a great saddle pad? That, I can justify."

One person who bought a saddle pad re-donated it to the Professional Riders Organization (PRO) Fire Relief Auction so that it would raise even more money for True Prospect Farm.

Da Silva said that she believed the ECOGOLD sale would raise somewhere around $2,000. “We just finished entering the orders last night and got the final number today: $8,032.50, which is simply amazing!” she said. “I’m really glad we could do our part to help Boyd, who truly deserves all the happiness in the world from this point forward.” 

And that's how we want to see Boyd from now on! photo by Calina

 Now go bid on the PRO Auction!!!!!  click here!

Ecogold Videos - Bromont CCI3* Cross-Country

Leslie Law and Rehy Lux - currently in 2nd

the lovely Sharon White and Rafferty's Rules (aka Reggie) - in 3rd after XC

Phillip Dutton and William Penn at Bromont CCI3 Three Day Event 

Diana Burnett and Shigatzi - 2011 Bromont CCI3* Three Day Event


Kendal Lehari and Daily Edition - 2011 Bromont CCI3* Three Day Event


Buck Davidson and Absolutely Liberty - 2011 Bromont CCI3* Three Day Event

Ecogold rider Hannah Burnett at Bromont CCI Three Day Event

Hannah Burnett and Harbor Pilot, after their fantastic CCI2* ride (double clear!!!)

Ecogold-rider, the very cool Hannah Burnett took some time to speak to us about her first experience at the Bromont CCI  Three Day Event.
 
Check it out!

Ecogold Pads in Full Force at Bromont CCI - XC CCI1* Videos

I lost track of how many Secure XC Saddle pads were spotted in the CCI1* at  the Bromont Three Day Event... but there were lots!

From ECOGOLD-sponsored riders Kyle Carter, Buck Davidson and Doug Payne (sitting in 2nd place with Camerlingo... sold by Ecogold-friend Anita Nemtin-Gilmour) to amateur riders. 

It was great to see the True Prospect Farm riders doing what they love, especially Lee Lee Jones competing in her 1st CCI1* and Abbie Golden, riding Arundel.

Here are a few videos. Enjoy! 

Ecogold-rider Doug Payne and Camerlingo - currently in 2nd place

True Prospect Farm Rider Lee Lee Jones and Model Cadet riding in their first CCI1*

True Prospect Farm Rider Abbie Golden and Arundel

Ryann Quigley and Ardfield Rover

Ecogold-rider Buck Davidson and No More Rocks

Updates and answers on fundraising for Boyd Martin

Boyd and Minotaure du Passoir, one of the horses who was saved

We are getting a lot of emails, so I will post answers to questions, information and updates here.

Questions:

1) How much of the proceeds are you donating? 

• 50% of your order will go DIRECTLY to Boyd. So on a $165 saddle pad order, we are donating exactly $82.50. Not a penny less.

2) Can I get a Hunter Pad or a Half Pad instead of the Cross-country Pad?

• YES. We set up a special Cross-country Saddle Pad as the donated item in honour of the event horses, but you can change it to a dressage, show jumping, hunter saddle pad or half pad.

• We would prefer that you would place your "charity" order directly on the special item we have set up and if you want something else, just WRITE in the COMMENTS: the item, colour and size. It just makes it easier for us to calculate the donation amount.

 CLICK and ORDER USING THIS ITEM, 

write in the comments if you want something else.

3) When is the sale of pads for Boyd's benefit going to stop?

• Sunday is the last day to place your order. On Monday morning, we will close the fundraising section and send Boyd the check.

4) When will my pad be delivered?

• The charity pads might take up to 2 weeks to be delivered.  We are receiving a high volume of "charity" orders, on top of our very busy "normal" sales. Please understand that we are trying to get orders out as soon as possible, but this is an unusual situation. We are prioritizing our "normal" orders, as we don't want to penalize clients who are not aware of this fundraiser and just need their ECOGOLD pads for their next show. If you NEED the pad quickly, please write it in the comments and we will do our best.

5) Can I get the saddle pad in colours?

• At this point, we are out of colours. So white or black are the only options for the saddle pads. If you want to get the Memory Foam Triple Protection Half Pad, all the colours we offer normally are available.

UPDATE:

As of 10:45 Friday, we have raised $3547.50. Originally, we thought we would raise $990 with the sale of the 6 saddle pads donated in name of the 6 horses who perished (would have rounded up to $1,000), so anything above that is simply incredible.

Thank you to everyone for being so supportive, kind and generous.

Amber Heintzberger, who coincidentally is ECOGOLD's PR person as well as Boyd's (he found her first!), linked to this video this morning. (I wasn't able to watch the first one that everyone was posting on Facebook two days ago, but I'm glad I watched this one):

May you all gallop atop the clouds in heaven

How Chelan Kozak and Lexi Campbell got my iPhone wet

First, an update on our fundraising efforts for Boyd.

- So far, we have raised $2887.50 from the sale of the 6 saddle pads donated in memory of each horse lost, and the additional saddle pads where 50% is donated to Boyd. We are posting updates daily on our Facebook page.

- The fundraiser will continue through the weekend. Sunday will be the last day.

- You can be absolutely sure that 100% of what we raise will go directly to Boyd. We will send him a check on Monday. He is our sponsored rider, and that's the way we've decided to do it. He will spend the money the way he sees fit.

To purchase an ECOGOLD Saddle Pad and donate to Boyd Martin:  Click here!

So... how did Chelan Kozak get my iPhone wet?

Early this morning, on my phone, I saw that Chelan had sent the following email to all her contacts. Needless to say, I was deeply touched by her gesture:

Re: Boyd martin's barn fire

On 2011-06-01, at 11:25 PM, Chelan Kozak wrote:

Hey everyone,

As many of you have heard US eventer Boyd Martin lost 6 horses in a tragic barn fire earlier this week. http://www.eventingnation.com/home/ Out of such horrific tragedy comes bright light. In case, the 'light' is that the Eventing community has come together in many ways to assist Boyd, his working students, owners, etc in their recovery efforts from this tragedy.

Ecogold, makers of the BEST saddle pads in the universe began by donating six saddle pads in memory of the six horse who perished in the fire. Those pads went in such record time that Ecogold decided to donate 50% of all saddle pad sales for the next few days to Boyd's crew's recovery efforts. If any of you has been thinking of buying a saddle pad, now is a great time. Each have you has probably heard me ramble on about how much I like the ecogold products, but I have never been more proud to be associated with their products as now. It is during adversity that we see a person's (or company's) true colours.

Thank you Ecogold for your support for fellow event rider during such a time of sorrow.

 http://horsejunkiesunited.com/2011/05/a-moment-of-silence-and-how-to-help-boyd/

 Chelan Kozak www.3DAZE.com
 "The difficult we do immediately; the impossible, takes a little time."

 Similarly, Lexi Campbell got my iPhone wet... 

...when I found this on ECOGOLD's Facebook page. She had posted the following note on her FB wall, tagged all her friends, as well as ECOGOLD. I do not know Lexi personally, so I found it remarkable that a total stranger would help in this way. I was truly humbled.

I don't know what I would do without my horse

Help Boyd Martins team by buying a Ecogold pad!
by Lexi Campbell on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 2:15pm

I had recently bought an Ecogold pad for my hard to fit mare, it is the best thing in my tack trunk. I am tagging all my equestrian friends to spread the word of the tragic barn fire that happened. There are many ways to help and donate but I find that besides giving just plain old money you can buy an awesome pad from Ecogold and 50% of the profit goes to Boyd Martin’s fund. I would want the same done for any of my horses or friends horses regardless if you are an international rider or just a pleasure rider, we are all equestrians and we all belong to the horse community regardless of our background.

If you have no use for a jumping or dressage pad my suggestion would be to buy one as a gift or buy one to donate to a nonprofit organization whether it’s for a horse rescue or a handicapped riding association

https://www.ecogold.ca/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=119

http://eventingnation.com/home/2011/05/fire-at-boyd-martins-barn-at-true-prospect-farm.html

the best thing in my tack trunk

Yesterday, I wrote a post on our Horse Junkies United Blog - When we all became members of True Prospect Farm, so I will not repeat the same things about how impressed I am by the horse community, coming together in this difficult time. 

To Chelan and Lexi and all of you who have stepped up, donated, spread the word, sent messages of support, written nice comments: Thank you. Your kindness has been a blessing.