Thursday July 29, 2010

Fantastic results for Canada from the first day of dressage at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships in Lexington, Kentucky as Team Ontario captured the silver medal. Riding in ECOGOLD saddle pads, Amy Jager, Jaimie Holland, Maura O’Sullivan and Megan Lane finished only 1 point away from the gold, with 2 riders in the top 3. Way to go!!

Team Ontario’s rider Jaimie Holland, who finished 3rd, had these comments: “WE DID IT!!!! We're bringing home some hardware!!! Congrats to my fellow teammates Megan, Maura, and Amy on an awesome day. We won the silver team medal and were only 1 point off of the gold!!!

Amy kicked off the day laying down a good first test with some awesome trot work pulling in a 63.6% due to some small mistakes that added up. She finished top 15 today going in to the Individual test tomorrow. Maura was next and unfortunately went off course on a coefficient movement and had to be docked 2 full marks for that movement (coefficient movements are movements in a test where the score given is multiplied by 2 and are usually movements that make or break your score). However, she had an otherwise good first test at her first year at young riders and laid down some really good trot work as well. Czar, who is usually up to some comic antics, had none of those today and was really there for her which was great- no foot resting in the extended walk today :D. Next up was Megan on Caravella who laid down an unreal test and brought in a 67 and change, and put us in the gold medal position initially. She would finish second overall going in to the Individual test tomorrow. Unfortunately, another team member from Region 5/6 in the States got a high score and knocked us down to the silver medal shortly after. I was last to go and had a personal best ride which scores in high 69 range until my last 2 lines of changes. Due to a mistake in both lines - which we never mess up!!!! - Nina and I ended up with a 67 and change as well, securing the silver medal for the team and finishing 3rd overall.”

Monday July 19, 2010

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Monday July 12, 2010

When we started developing our line of horse boots, we took a look at the products that were already in the market.

First, as a textile engineering company, we know about materials. And we were amazed by the amount of ridiculous claims on labels: from breathable-neoprene (which doesn’t exist. Neoprene is an insulator and is not breathable) to 95%+ shock absorption (you can’t measure impact in an absolute percentage, it depends on the impact force). Yikes! No wonder people don’t know what to believe.

As a protective safety device, we were surprised that there weren’t uniform testing requirements that all manufacturers needed to comply with, specially with regards to impact, as there are for helmets or safety vests.

We did comparative studies, looked at the key important factors and also, talked to grooms and top riders to see how we could develop a horse boot that would offer the best protection to the horse.

Video - What every rider should know about protective Horse Boots

1. IMPACT PROTECTION

First and foremost, the reason why you put a boot on your horse is for protection. When we started looking for the best impact material in boots, we discovered many choices. Some boots use plastic shields, metal plates, and amazingly enough, some brushing boots don’t have any protection at all. The problem with the metal or plastic shield, is that even if it protects (some brands better than others) it remains stiff, which is not comfortable for the horse and has the potential to create rubs. Our discussions with top riders and grooms made it clear that our boots needed to be flexible, so we had to look for a material that would not only have high impact strength, but also be flexible.

We found polycarbonate, a bullet-proof material designed to absorb shock in high-impact situations. Developed originally for the aerospace industry, polycarbonate is used for airline windows, NASA Space Shuttles and also for protective helmets, riot police shields and bullet-proof windows.  There is plenty of data on its resistance to impact.

"With 20 times the impact resistance of fiberglass and over 40 times the impact resistance of glass or acrylic. At a thickness of .033", a Polycarbonate sheet can withstand over 240 inch-pounds of impact. This equates to a 3/4" hailstone falling at 96 miles per hour! Polycarbonate sheet maintains this superior impact resistance at temperatures ranging from 40°C to 250°C."

We also did our own comparative impact test – hitting different brands with an axe. We were amazed by the results.

Video - Axe Impact test ECOGOLD Horse Boots

Besides the impact protection advantages, polycarbonate is very light, flexible and offers a uniform level of protection at different temperatures. So riding in tropical hot and humid or freezing conditions, would not affect its performance.

2. HEAT build-up – Breathability

Air-vents or no air-vents? As riders try to determine breathability by checking the number of air-vents on horse boots, we knew that our key advantage would be in making the entire surface of the boot entirely breathable, as we had successfully done for our dressage boots. So, our boot doesn’t need air-vents – which can help neoprene-boots become slightly more breathable but can also offer a weak impact point (less protection where it’s open) and allow sand and dirt to get in.

Our expertise in combining micro-fiber and our unique 100% breathable memory-foam (our breathable memory-foam is completely vented, like a mesh, so it does not trap moisture or heat in, as might happen with regular memory-foam) offer an entirely breathable surface, to quickly dissipate the heat.

There was an independent test done at a competition in the UK measuring the temperature of the horse’s legs after the XC. Results found that the horses using our boots were 1.5 degrees cooler than with the number one boot in the UK.

3. RESTRICTION - Flexibility

It was clear from the beginning that we needed to make very flexible boots, not only to offer greater comfort to the horse, but also reduce friction and prevent rubs. Stiff boots limit the freedom of movement.

Rubs and skin irritation can be caused by the materials used (many horses are allergic to neoprene), but also due to the boot design. Top grooms strongly recommended making a boot without any trim to prevent friction.

The breathable memory-foam, which conforms to the horse’s legs with the flexibility of the Polycarbonate shield and designing the boots without any trim, feel like a second skin. That's what you want. The more flexible, the more comfortable for the horse, but without compromising on the level of impact protection.

4. WEIGHT – One of the reasons why we are using the Polycarbonate shield is that it’s lightweight compared with other materials of similar resistance, which allows our boots to weigh as the lightest ones in the market approximately 250 grams.

The fact that they are 100% breathable allows them to quickly evaporate the sweat, maintaining their weight constant during a competition. By using water-repellent materials, the tests done on the field show that there is little water absorption when going through the water jumps.

For more information about ECOGOLD Horse Boots, please click on each photo:

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Monday July 11, 2010

Canada’s Team Valkenhof won the Reserve Championship at Lendon Gray’s Youth Dressage Festival, Dressage 4 Kids held July 9-11. Riding in Ecogold's Stabilizer Dressage saddle pads, they came in second place out of 59 teams, missing the first place only by .18.

Individually, Laurence Migner, Kaitlin Bourgon, Nicole Babich-Morin and  Danika Guertin-Pierson won at least one of their divisions. Laurence Migner won Reserve High Point of the Show with a score of 88.721, placing second of 260 riders. Well done!

The mission of the Dressage 4 Kids, Youth Dressage Festival is to  encourage riders under 21 to become true horsemen with correct position, competitive skills, and knowledge of all aspects of riding and horse care; to offer scholarships to enable competitors to further their education; to have fun and develop good sportsmanship.

Each division consists of three sections:  Written Test, Equitation Class and Dressage Test.  Divisions are further divided by age. 

The Written Test assesses knowledge of riding theory and stable management learned from the required reading and knowledge of the rules detailed in the Prize List.

The Equitation class judges competitors riding in a group at the walk, trot and canter.  The rider’s position and seat are judged along with the correct and effective use of the aids. 

The Dressage Test, ridden individually and in a prescribed sequence of patterns and movements, assesses the forward and supple nature of the horse, its balance and harmony with the rider, the rider’s position and seat, and the correct and effective use of the aids. 

Each section is worth 100 points for a total of 300 points for the division.  The winner of a division is the rider with the highest points. 

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Monday July 5, 2010

Last week, we visited US event rider Sinead Halpin’s training facility in Lebanon, NJ, a stone’s throw from Gladstone, New Jersey, home of United States Equestrian Team. When you think about New Jersey… you don’t necessarily think of horses and a beautiful countryside, but this part of New Jersey is lovely.

Sinead, who rides in Ecogold Saddle pads and Horse Boots, runs Sinead Halpin Eventing, a training and sales business based at Hart Farm in NJ and spends the winter months competing in Aiken, SC. She is the secretary and one of the original board members of PRO (Professional Riders Organization), which utilizes the country’s top professional event riders to connect with fans and raise awareness of the sport.

Sinead’s top horse Manior De Carneville (aka Tate) was injured this winter and was unable to compete at Rolex Kentucky CCI****, but after months of TLC and rehabilitation – including training in a pool (see video - click here!), he should start competing in August.

Here's a tour of her facility, which used to be a vineyard and has a lot of character and history.

Learn more about Sinead Halpin - click here for her profile in our Hall of Champions>>

"The most important thing to me is that my horses are comfortable, happy and well protected. From Ecogold's Secure saddle pads to their fantastic new cross country boots, I can say Ecogold products help me achieve that goal every day!"

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Monday, July 5 2010

Sinead's top horse Manior De Carneville (Tate) is on the mend after an unfortunate injury this winter. In order to  regain his fitness and strength before his first competition, later this summer, Sinead decided to enroll Tate in swimming lessons.

Tate goes in the pool 4 times per week and the sessions last for 6 minutes. In the pool, the horse has to swim against the current, which gives him a fantastic low-impact full-body cardio workout. So, Tate can get fit and rebuild strength without putting any impact on his legs, minimizing any risk of injury.

Watch Tate in action in the pool

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