ECOGOLD donates 6 Saddle Pads, one in memory of each horse lost in Boyd Martin's Barn Fire

Boyd and Charla, at Bromont last year

All day, we haven't been able to think of anything else but Boyd's barn fire, where 6 horses lost their lives. In tragedy, you feel so powerless. I'm sure there will be some fundraising efforts to help Boyd, but at the time I write this, I haven't heard anything official yet.

As I am of an impatient nature, and as one of Boyd's sponsors, we feel the need to step up and help him, even before anybody asks. So, we've decided to set up a special section on our online store where we are donating 1 Secure Saddle Pad in memory of each horse lost. You can be assured that 100% of your purchase will go to Boyd.

I have set up six Secure Cross-Country Saddle Pads, in honour of these event horses, but if you prefer a dressage or square jumper saddle pad, just write it in the comments.

Here is the section: Boyd Martin's Fund

Each saddle pad is listed separately here, as a tribute to each horse:

• Secure Saddle Pad / In Memory of Ariel **SOLD**

• Secure Saddle Pad / In Memory of Cagney Herself **SOLD**

• Secure Saddle Pad / In Memory of Call Me Ollie **SOLD**

• Secure Saddle Pad / In memory of Charla **SOLD**

• Secure Saddle Pad / In memory of Phantom Pursuit **SOLD**

• Secure Saddle Pad / In memory of Summer Breeze **SOLD**

UPDATE 6:52 PM: Due to the quick sale of the saddle pads in memory of the horses, we have added an unlimited amount, where we will donate 50% of the sales to Boyd.

• Secure Saddle Pad (unlimited) / 50% of the proceeds will go to Boyd

We are praying for the surviving horses being treated, the first two in intensive care, Neville Bardos, Otis Barbotiere, (Caitlin’s) Catch a Star and Ambassador’s Rose.

Our gesture will not erase the sorrow or come close to provide what Boyd and his team will need, but it makes us feel a little more useful.

If you want to donate any amount, you can do so by clicking on the PayPal button below. This relief fund is a general fund set up by True Prospect Farm to help everyone at Windurra LLC and True Prospect Farm, as well as Boyd’s owners and riders who have been impacted by this tragedy.

Also, a Facebook Page has been set up by Evie Dutton from True Prospect Farm: True Prospect Fire Recovery Fund

Devastating

Tragedies like these, normally happen to people we don't know. But unfortunately, this one hit very close to home.

This morning, as I was about to drive to work, I received a text asking me if I had heard anything about a fire at Boyd Martin's barn. Boyd is one of our sponsored riders and I have visited his barn at Phillip Dutton's True Prospect Farm a couple of times. My reaction was "What? That can't be right". When the news was confirmed that it was indeed true and that horses were lost, it hit like a ton of bricks.

Today, we feel unbelievably sad for Boyd and his team, and completely powerless.

On behalf of ECOGOLD, I would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the owners and everyone connected to the horses lost in the fire: Call Me Ollie, Charla, (Lillian's) Ariel, Phantom Pursuit, Cagney Herself, and Summer Breeze.

We are praying for the surviving horses being treated at the New Bolton Center: Neville Bardos, Otis Barbotiere, (Caitlin's) Catch a Star and Ambassador's Rose.

We are thinking how brave Lillian Heard, Caitlin Silliman, Ryan and the others at True Prospect Farm who went in the fire to save them, are.

Boyd, you are in our thoughts, with Silva, Lillian, Caitlin, Phillip and Evie, the owners and everyone at True Prospect Farm. We are grieving with you.

The Jog at Dressage at Bromont CDI... sponsored by ECOGOLD

Don't ask me how we ended up sponsoring a best-dressed jog competition at Dressage at Bromont CDI1*... I will just say one minute I was chatting with Linda Pepin, the show organizer about this year's show, and the next I was agreeing to donating a prize for the best presented rider and horse.

I have no idea who decides the winners, but here are some pics.

Simone Williams and Farley

Ecogold Launches Horse Junkies United, a Blog by Amateur Equestrians, for Amateur Equestrians!

We are very excited to announce.... that ECOGOLD has created a new website for amateur equestrians, “Horse Junkies United”, by and for amateur equestrians from different English riding disciplines.

The content is written by Amateur riders from across North America who are actively involved in dressage, hunter/jumpers and eventing. The goal is to provide cool, fun and meaningful content - with a point of view - that will relate to amateur equestrians across all English disciplines. The blog will cover all aspects of English riding including coverage of events and shows across North America, clinic reports, fashion, informative product reviews, and interviews with professional riders, special segments and of course contests!

The blog, which can be found at www.horsejunkiesunited.com, is the brainchild of Patricia Da Silva, ECOGOLD's Marketing VP. “After the successful Ammie Blogger Experience at Rolex Kentucky, where a team of amateur riders covered the event on ECOGOLD’s blog, some of the bloggers expressed an interest to keep going,” she said. “It just made sense to create a separate website and to bring in dressage and hunter/jumper riders to be more representative of the North American horse show scene.”

In 2011 ECOGOLD was the winner of the Equestrian Social Media Award for Best Use of Social Media in Category 14 - Saddlery or Tack Company - International.

ECOGOLD is proud to welcome CHARLES OWEN & CO. as their first partner. Danielle Santos of Charles Owen said, “Horse Junkies United is a great idea! Amateur riders across disciplines love to share their experiences and this blog gives them a place to do that. Charles Owen is proud to be involved in such an exciting new project.”

Another feature of the blog will be reviews of Boyd and Silva Martin’s training videos. The Martins, who are both sponsored by ECOGOLD and CHARLES OWEN and compete at the international levels of eventing and dressage, respectively, have created a series of training videos. One of the Horse Junkies United bloggers will watch the videos and write something about each one.

Carrie Braff, an amateur event rider from Ontario, Canada will be Blogger-in-Chief for Horse Junkies United. “We really want this site to branch out to ALL the amateur English Discipline riders out there.” said Carrie. “What better way than to have the content be written by amateur riders who are not only intelligent but funny, witty and somewhat crazy.  After all, if all of us horse junkies were normal, let's face it, we'd have nothing interesting to write about!”

While the blog will feature regular contributors, anyone can submit blog posts or get involved by emailing info@horsejunkiesunited.com

Check it out!!!!! www.horsejunkiesunited.com

Team Fredericks - The Next Generation!

Uh, oh... There's another member of Team Fredericks that we might need to start sponsoring... meet Ellie, daughter of Ecogold-riders Clayton and Lucinda Fredericks.



See you at Rolex!

Happy Mother's Day from ECOGOLD! with Awww videos...

Denielle Gallagher with daughter Juliette

We deal with a lot of wonderful horse moms... They drive their horse-crazy kid to lessons, bankroll the horse adventure, carry buckets, wash those dirty saddle pads and the list of "mom-tasks" goes on and on... Not only they are in charge of all the boring stuff, but they are also their kids #1 fan and supporter, ringside at the end of a ride to say "well done!" 

Mothers play a huge role, even at the higher levels of the sport. They often own the horses or are involved in their children's career in an active way.

And let's not forget all the professional riders who are also moms. It must take an incredible amount of organizational skills and sheer determination, to balance their sports objectives and business requirements with the demands of motherhood.

So here's our Awww salute to moms... whether they are of the "human kind or the interspecies kind...

Jessica Phoenix and baby Jacob

WEG Silver Medalists Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch and Hawley Bennett discuss their mothers & families


  Doggie-mommy adopts some kittehs

Kitteh-mommy adopts some squirrels

Kitteh-mommy adopts a baby bunny

Best of Rolex: The Ammies rocked!

The Ammie Bloggers were THIS great!

Having the Ammie Blogger Experience at Rolex Kentucky (amateur riders blogging about their experience and posting updates and photos on ECOGOLD's Facebook and Twitter pages) brought another dimension to the event.

In my job, I deal with top riders on a daily basis, so I tend to forget that they are a big deal to a lot of people.

But seeing the Ammie Bloggers every day with eyes full of stars, so excited and grateful for the experience, brought another dimension to "my" Rolex. I felt like Santa every single day! Kind of a "fake Santa" though, because I didn't think I was doing all that much for the amount of gratitude I received in return. I was glad to help, in a very small way, bridge some of the gap between "the general public" and the "Rolex stars".

I knew those private moments and one-on-one course walks with Rolex riders and meetings with grooms, would be special but never, in a million years I thought the bloggers would be so amazing. I was really, really impressed with #1. how much fun they all were #2. how incredibly talented they are.

The photos and content created by the Amateur Bloggers compared favorably to a lot of the Rolex coverage out there, with a lot more emotion thrown in... There were at least one or two kleenex-worthy reads... So a BIG thank you to Cheryl, Calina, Carrie, Tracy, Jennifer, Sarah, Holly, Kate, Elyse, Becky, Krisy, Lori, Cathy and Aislinn! You made our Rolex really special. (I have a feeling the Ammies will be back....)
 

Our Amateur Bloggers were featured every day on the Horses in the Morning Radio Shows (big thanks to Glenn and Jamie!) Here are the links to the shows:

Rolex Show Day #1 - Cheryl and Calina's Interview at -56.00 minutes

Rolex Show Day #2 - Becky's Interview at -46.00 minutes

Rolex Show Day #3 - Holly's Interview at -36.50 minutes

Rolex Show Day #4 - Carrie's Interview at -33.75 minutes

Also, I want to feature some cool fan videos...(not by our Ammies but fun stuff nonetheless.) I love this kind of videos. Not professional in any way, but you can tell there's a lot of time, effort and passion behind each of them.  Enjoy!

Rolex 2011 from jumpingchicka96

2011 Rolex Kentucky from eventerbug2

2011 Rolex Kentucky from PretzellyPony

Kentucky Part 1 by ridergirl101

Rolex 2011 from ShoshanaSaysHi