Carl Hester Confirms He is Not Uthopia’s Buyer

Lorraine Jackson, Leave a comment
uthopia

Screenshot via YouTube

 

Over the weekend, Carl Hester shared on his Facebook page that the mysterious bidder who ultimately won Uthopia at a public auction house was not affiliated with him or his investors, and the new owner of the stallion remains a mystery.

According to Horse & Hound, a British equestrian publication that’s been following the story, the auction house does not release the names of winning bidders as a policy, but did state that they “did not recognize the name” of the bidding war. Uthopia was sold for £165k, which is equal to approximately $241,065.00.

In late April we shared the distressing news that Carl Hester’s much-loved mount Uthopia, with whom Hester helped Great Britain win team dressage gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, would be sold at auction without reserve as a result of bankruptcy proceedings by the managers of the owners’ estates.

A wave of public support from all around the world flooded social media, with fans offering donations of money to help Hester purchase Uthopia. Carl stated on his Facebook page that they felt confident that they had secured the necessary funds to purchase Uthopia, and that no funds from the general public would be necessary.

The auction included everything from sports cars to designer aftershave, and numerous Rolex watches. Uthopia was one of the most expensive and drawn out bids of the day, with the full bidding process lasting nearly 15 minutes.

While fans are understandably disappointed, the high price assures a certain positive outcome for the horse, and when the stallion ultimately stands at stud, the outcome of his purchase will be more fully publicized. If we learn more, we’ll be sure to bring the news to you here.

Go Uthopia.

 

Tuesday Video: Horse Animation by the Layers

Kristen Kovatch, , Leave a comment
Here’s a little something different for your Tuesday morning: Watch this 3D horse become animated, one piece at a time!

Animated horses have come a long way from the hand-drawn cartoons of yesterday. Watch this 3D rendering of a horse come “alive” one step at a time until it runs across the screen about as realistic as can be!

From the video description:

I created this animation as a way to demonstrate the technique of layering animation to create a realistic run cycle for a horse.

Most of my students knew pose to pose, and straight through animation styles, and the basics of keyframe animation. Yet they were unfamiliar with this layered animation method, and I thought this would aid in showing them step by step how it works.

As always, I look at reference footage to study the type movement I am trying to create with the animation. I also familiarize myself with the character rig thoroughly before proceeding.

The horse run is based on a 12 frame cycle: first starting with the main parts of the body and head, then proceeding to the legs, animating one, then copying and offsetting to its mirror, adding secondary animation and adding further refinements when viewing through a front facing camera.

Pretty cool stuff! Go riding!

Kentucky Performance Products: Fructan Overload

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What is fructan overload? Our friends at Kentucky Performance Products share an educational infographic.

15-140-600px-What-is-Fructan-Overload

Article written by KPP staff.

Copyright (C) 2015 Kentucky Performance Products, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

About Kentucky Performance Products, LLC: No more guesswork. No more worries. With hundreds of different supplements on the market today, trying to pick the right one for your horse can be frustrating and worrisome. Let your veterinarian and Wiser Concepts® supplements ease the uncertainty. As a team, you and your vet will choose the Wiser Concepts supplement that best meets your horse’s needs. Wiser Concepts supplements are available only through your veterinarian. Learn more at KPPvet.com.

NEWS: Uthopia sold for £165k at Auction, Buyer Unknown

Lorraine Jackson, Leave a comment

Carl_Hester_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics

Carl Hester and Uthopia. Wikimedia Commons/Kim Ratcliffe/CC

According to British news outlet Horse & Hound, Carl Hester’s longtime Grand Prix Dressage mount Uthopia has been sold in a public auction for £165k, which is equal to approximately $241,065.00. As of publication, the buyer is still unknown.

In late April we shared the distressing news that Carl Hester’s much-loved mount Uthopia, with whom Hester helped Great Britain win team dressage gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, would be sold at auction without reserve as a result of bankruptcy proceedings by the managers of the owners’ estates.

A wave of public support from all around the world flooded social media, with fans offering donations of money to help Hester purchase Uthopia. Carl stated on his Facebook page that they felt confident that they had secured the necessary funds to purchase Uthopia, and that no funds from the general public would be necessary.

The bids for Uthopia were the longest bidding war of the auction so far, which has included everything from sports cars to designer aftershave, and numerous Rolex watches.

 


The Dressage editor at H&H had made an educational guess that based on what the stallion could garner in his lifetime in breeding fees, she estimated he would sell for about £228,479, or $333,807. Her guess was ultimately high, but not unreasonable.

The horse community is on pins and needles waiting to hear the identity of the buyer, and as soon as we know more, we will update this story, so please continue to check in on Horse Nation throughout the evening.

Go Uthopia.

 

 

 

This Moving Wooden Horse Sculpture is Mesmerizing

Lorraine JacksonLeave a comment

Maurice Montero of Arte Mecánico has created hundreds of absolutely stunning moving works of art in his shop in Ecuador, but his newest creation is certainly one that has a lot of appeal to the fine citizens of Horse Nation!

If you watched the video with the sound off, be sure to turn your volume on and get another viewing in! The gears have been designed to not only simulate realistic movement in the body, legs, neck and head, it’s also been carefully crafted to create the sound of galloping hooves to the correct timing.

Maurice’s other work includes flying contraptions, bicycles, human figures, and other unusual animals. His materials also vary significantly from project to project, including wood, metal, bamboo, paper, and fabric.

You can see more of Maurice’s incredible artwork at his Facebook Page, including many other horse sculptures of all types and sizes! There’s also a great behind the scenes tour of his studio here.

Go Riding.

 

Equestrian Time Warp: Horse Show Edition

Kristen KovatchLeave a comment
Flickr/Five Furlongs/CC

Flickr/Five Furlongs/CC

Doesn’t it seem like there’s some sort of spell on the clock when you’re with your horse, talking about your horse or doing something for your horse’s benefit? You swear it’s only been a few minutes, but when you check the clock, the entire afternoon has slipped away. We’re exploring this strange phenomenon in a series of Equestrian Time Warps: last time, we visited the tack shop. Today, we’re headed to the horse show.

4:30 AM: *smacks bedside table in general proximity to beeping phone alarm*

4:33 AM: *sits bolt upright, suddenly remembering why the alarm is set so early*

4:34 AM: But you know what, it’s only a schooling show … no rush, right?

4:35 AM: *snoooooore*

4:39 AM: *blindly reaches for phone to turn off the snooze alarm* Who is texting me this early in the morning? “Are you up?” Yes, Show Buddy, I am. Sheesh. The show doesn’t start until 8.

4:45 AM: So pleased that I remembered to lay out my clothes last night.

4:46 AM: And so pleased to discover the cat has been sleeping on them all night long.

4:54 AM: I get extra-credit for finding the lint roller that early in the morning. And I’m only 9 minutes late! Show Buddy, stop texting me, I’m on my way to the barn right now.

5:18 AM: Gooooood morning Prancer! I see you slept in poop again. That’s so helpful for show morning.

5:29 AM: There, that looks much better. My show breeches have now perhaps seen better days, however.

5:35 AM: Ok, eat up, Prancer! We have a big day ahead of us.

5:36 AM: You want to check the trailer tack room again, Show Buddy? I’m sure we have everything, we packed it last night.

5:38 AM: Oh, no, you’re right … a bridle would have been a good thing to pack.

5:39 AM: There, now do we have everything?

5:52 AM: Horses are loaded, pre-show playlist is rocking this truck, and we are headed to a horse show!

5:55 AM: Heck yes, we’re stopping at Dunkin Donuts first. We’ve got loads of time.

6:01 AM: Do you think we’ll fit through the drive-thru?

6:02 AM: I WAS JUST KIDDING. Sheesh.

6:11 AM: Now we’re ready to horse show.

6:28 AM: I could have sworn this show grounds was only 20 minutes from home. Does this look familiar to you?

6:29 AM: … because I really don’t want to have to turn this bumper-pull around.

6:30 AM: Yes, I know the warm-up hunter is the first class.

6:31 AM: IT’S BEEN FOREVER AND I STILL DON’T SEE THE SHOW GROUNDS AND WE ARE GOING TO MISS ALL OF THE CLASSES.

6:32 AM: Oh, there it is. That was agonizing.

6:36 AM: Yes! The perfect parking spot on the hill over the show ring so we can watch all the action.

6:37 AM: … oh right, this is also the furthest spot away from the water spigot. Oh well, guess we’re hiking those buckets today.

6:38 AM: No, we got this. You hang up the hay nets, I’ll go fill the buckets, and then you can tack up and I’ll go do our entries.

6:45 AM: Oh man, my show breeches had just started to dry from this morning.

6:49 AM: That was the heaviest walk of my life! You’re welcome, beautiful horses, drink up all of the water.

6:50 AM: Yikes, the show starts at 8, right? Maybe we should go warm up first, and then do our entries.

6:51 AM: You’re right, that IS an excellent plan.

7:02 AM: All tacked up, got my tall boots on, time to go and warm up, Prancer!

7:03 AM: OMG, this schooling ring is a circus. LEFT to LEFT, people!

7:10 AM: Hey, pony kid … you’re tailgating. Scram.

7:11 AM: Hey, pony kid, your pony BITES!

7:12 AM: Sorry, Prancer.

7:37 AM: Hey Show Buddy! Yeah, Prancer feels great. We’re going to head back up to the trailer.

7:38 AM: What entries?

7:39 AM: Oh yeah, those entries. Okay, I’ll hold Star and Prancer, and you can run in there real fast.

7:42 AM: Hey! You two get along fine at home.

7:45 AM: Huh, Show Buddy is frantically waving me down. Boys, fight nicely, we have to get over to the line outside the office.

7:46 AM: Yeah, Show Buddy, I know entries close ten minutes before the class … stay in line, we’ll make it!

7:48 AM: Is she actually bribing that trainer to let her skip ahead in line?

7:51 AM: I can’t believe you did that! But hey, our entries our in. Nice work. And the first class is in a few minutes, so I guess we should just stay down here at the ring.

7:53 AM: Oh, you are right, we did leave our show coats up at the trailer. No, it’s okay, I’ll just run.

7:57 AM: Okay *gasp* here you go *wheeze* I made it back in time.

7:59 AM: What did the announcer just say?

8:00 AM: Oh, they pushed the start time back by half an hour. Go figure …

Thursday Video: Mama Knows Best

Reader Submission, Leave a comment
“I said DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS.”

Reader Addie Wetteland sent us this video of two-and-a-half week old “Derby,” who is just dying to play with Bug. As Addie tried to get her twin sister Katie on Bug lined up in front of the barn for a photo, Derby’s mother Ellie had other ideas. After all, mama knows best:

Too cute! Some day Derby will be going for his own rides, we’re sure. In the meantime, listen to your mothers, and go riding.