All posts by Associate Editor

Competitions, Endurance Riding, Events, FEI, USEF

USEF to Send Full Team to the FEI Junior and Young Rider World Endurance Championship

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Lexington, KY – For the first time the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will send a full team and support staff to the FEI Junior and Young Rider World Endurance Championship. The 120km race will run on December 10, 2011 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  There will be over 35 countries represented by 150 riders between the ages of 14-21. The event is sponsored by HH Sheik Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nayan and organized by Adnan Al Nuaimi and his staff. The team and the traveling reserve horse named to the definite entry are as follows in ranked order:

Name (Age, Hometown)

Kelsey Russell (16, Williston, FL) on Valerie Kanavy’s Gold Raven
Gold Raven is a 10-year-old Arabian mare

Kelsey Kimbler (18, Aberdeen, SD) on Kirsten Kimbler’s Cody Canuck
Cody Canuck is a 14-year-old Arabian gelding

Steven Hay (21, Port Matilda, PA) on Natalie Muzzio’s Khalil Asam
Khalil Asam is a 10-year-old Arabian gelding

Kyle Gibbon (21, Kingsland, GA) on Stephen Rojek’s Misu Koran
Misu Koran is a 16-year-old Arabian gelding

Continue reading USEF to Send Full Team to the FEI Junior and Young Rider World Endurance Championship →

Contributors/Press, Equine Assisted Therapy, Publications/Media

Equine Therapy: A Cure for Affluenza? by Claire Dorotik

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As sinuous advertisers and marketing consultants cleverly concocted strategies encouraging the masses to flock to their respective stores in droves and spend unheard-of amounts of money, merge with consumers’ unabated appetites for the latest and greatest gadget, device or fashionable gift, the result is a prime example of what authors John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor and David Horsey so sagaciously dubbed “Affluenza”. As the title of their book (http://www.amazon.com/Affluenza-All-Consuming-Epidemic-Bk-Currents/dp/1576753573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322271876&sr=8-1) suggests, affluenza is a method of describing America’s proclivity for overspending as an actual disease, and one akin to an addiction. The authors further state that, like any disease, affluenza comes with a host of symptoms, from depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol addiction, physical health problems, to a variety of stress-related conditions. Clearly, however, this disease is yet without a cure — that is unless you consider the current state of the economy a cure — and at the same time, one that desperately needs treatment. Is it possible then that equine therapy can be helpful in the treatment of affluenza?

Continue reading Equine Therapy: A Cure for Affluenza? by Claire Dorotik →

Dressage, Events, Training/Clinics, USEF

USEF Developing Dressage Clinic at Hassler Dressage at Riveredge

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L-R Sharon McCusker on Wrigley, Jenny Van Wieren-Page, Debbie McDonald, Anne Gribbons and Stacey Parvey-Larson with Benidetto (Photo: Richard Malmgren)

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) ran a Developing Dressage Clinic with Debbie McDonald in Chesapeake City, MD at Hassler Dressage at Riveredge right before the Thanksgiving holiday.

McDonald, one of the most successful U.S. dressage riders in history, travelled from her Idaho home to this spectacular facility, which is the base for Hassler Dressage, to teach seven horse/rider combinations.  USEF Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons was also there to advise and observe.

Two of the horses who were very successful at the USEF National Dressage Championships this summer at Lamplight Equestrian Center showed continued progress in their training.

Sharon McCusker (Ashby, MA) rode Wrigley, who was third in the 2011 USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championship (sponsored by the Dutta Corporation and Performance Sales International, PSI) and Silva Martin (West Grove, PA) rode Aesthete, who was third in the 6-year-old Championship at the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championship.

Continue reading USEF Developing Dressage Clinic at Hassler Dressage at Riveredge →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, FEI, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

United States Places Fifth in FEI Nations Cup at CSIO-W Buenos Aires

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U.S. rider Charlie Jacobs wins Ericsson Grand Prix with Leap of Joy

Charlie Jacobs and Leap of Joy won the Ericsson Grand Prix at the CSIO-W Buenos Aires. Photo By: Haras El Capricho

Buenos Aires, Argentina – November 28, 2011 – The United States Show Jumping Team finished fifth during the FEI Nations Cup at CSIO-W Buenos Aires in Argentina held November 25, 2011 at Haras El Capricho, with 29 faults. The Jumping team included Charlie Jacobs of Buffalo, NY, aboard Leap of Joy, Ali Wolff of New Albany, OH, with Blacklick Bend Farm’s Lanoo, Cara Anthony of Redmond, WA, riding Potcreek Partners, LLC’s Woodpecker de Villars, and Cara Raether of Bedford, NY, aboard Trelawny Farm’s Lyonell. Jacobs also won three individual classes, including the Ericsson Grand Prix with Leap of Joy and the Nissan International Speed Derby with Flaming Star.

Following a strong first round of competition, the United States Show Jumping Team, competing in the FEI Nations Cup at CSIO-W Buenos Aires on Friday, had to settle for a fifth place at the end of the day. Three of the U.S. horse and rider combinations, Jacobs and Leap of Joy, Anthony with Woodpecker de Villars and Raether on Lyonell, all had four faults in round one. The first round drop score was that of Lanoo and Wolff who had two knockdowns. The team total of 12 faults had the US squad sitting seven faults off the lead in third place following the first round of action.

Continue reading United States Places Fifth in FEI Nations Cup at CSIO-W Buenos Aires →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

Swedish Riders Hold the Reins at the Top of Reem Acra Rankings

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Lausanne (SUI), 28 November 2011 – Previously lying in equal-seventh position, Sweden’s Patrik Kittel has now moved into second place on the Western European League table following his superb victory with Toy Story in the third leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 series in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday.

His Swedish colleague, Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven, who was only 0.1 point behind Kittel’s winning score when filling runner-up spot yesterday, continues to head the leaderboard going into the next round at Olympia in London, Great Britain on 14 December.

Please find below the updated leaderboard.

Continue reading Swedish Riders Hold the Reins at the Top of Reem Acra Rankings →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

Kittel Wins Out in Super-Tight Battle in Stockholm

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Patrik Kittel and Toy Story won the third leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series on their home turf in Stockholm, Sweden this afternoon. Photo: FEI/Roland Thunholm.

Stockholm (SWE), 27 November 2011 – Patrik Kittel headed up a Swedish one-two in the third leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 series in Stockholm, Sweden today.  But it was a close-fought affair as the 35-year-old rider and his 11 year old gelding, Toy Story, only pipped Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven and Don Auriello by 0.1 of a percentage point, while Germany’s Isabell Werth (Warum Nicht FRH) and Helen Langehanenberg (Responsible) had to settle for third and fourth places respectively.

In a weekend full of interesting twists and turns, multiple champion Werth finished well down the line in seventh place in Saturday’s Grand Prix won by Vilhelmson-Silfven. And, adding to the litany of surprises, was a very pleasant one for Norway’s Siril Helljesen who steered her lovely mare, Dorina, into Grand Prix runner-up spot.

But Kittel’s latest Freestyle victory underlines his great strength in depth.  He has 13 Grand Prix-level horses now at the base in Muenster, Germany which he has been operating for the last 15 years.  “I’m very lucky to have so many right at the moment,” he said this afternoon. “Toy Story does not have a great amount of experience but he is very talented and he really took me by surprise today!” he pointed out.

Continue reading Kittel Wins Out in Super-Tight Battle in Stockholm →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Driving, Events, FEI, FEI

Exell Uncontested Winner in Stockholm

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Boyd Exell (AUS), winner of the third FEI World Cup Driving 2011/2012 qualifier held in Stockholm (SWE) this weekend. ©Anna Vähäkuopus/FEI

Stockholm (SWE), 27 November 2011 – Triple FEI World Cup Driving Champion Boyd Exell (AUS) is the uncontested winner of the third FEI World Cup Driving competition of the season in Sweden’s capital Stockholm. Exell drove two fluent clear rounds and finished well ahead of wild card driver Tomas Eriksson (SWE) and IJsbrand Chardon (NED).

Practice rounds

After two ‘practice competitions’ in Hannover and Stuttgart where he competed with a wild card, Boyd collected his first World Cup points of the season. He began using a new horse this season to replace some of the older horses on his four-in-hand team. After two competitions and some good advice from the previous owner Jozsef Dobrovitz, the eight-year-old trotter Bajnok is now a reliable member of Boyd’s team.

Fire works

Boyd drove two impeccable rounds in the Globen Arena in Stockholm where the enthusiastic spectators contributed to a fantastic atmosphere. Sweden’s Dan Henriksson had challenged the drivers by designing a technical course with many different options. This resulted in a very exciting competition the highlight of which was the fireworks going off when the competitors crossed the finishing line on the bridge.

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Breeds, Contributors/Press, Racing

Vosburgh Winner Fabulous Strike to Old Friends

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GEORGETOWN, KY – NOVEMBER 23, 2011 – Fabulous Strike, winner of the 2007 Vosburgh Stakes, has been permanently pensioned at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY.

The 8-year-old Pennsylvania bred was retired from racing in September and was donated to Old Friends by his owner and breeder, Walter Downey and his Tea Party Stable.

Fabulous Strike (Smart Strike – Fabulous Find by Lost Code) is a five-time graded stakes winner and was one of the nation’s top sprinters between 2007 and 2009. In addition to the Vosburgh, his victories include the GR1 Aristides Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 2007 and the GR2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. in 2009. In all, the gelding captured 15 of his 28 starts and had total career earnings of $1, 448, 399.

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Community/Charity, Equestrian Aid Found., National Horse Show

Building a Legacy of Hope – The Charlie Weaver Legacy Fund

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Friends and supporters of the Equestrian Aid Foundation gathered last week at the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Ky., to launch the Charlie Weaver Legacy Fund. Named for legendary horseman Charlie Weaver, who passed away in 2010 from injuries sustained in a riding accident, the endowment fund will ensure the EAF’s mission continues to help those in dire need for decades to come.

The launch party was generously sponsored by R. Bruce Duchossois, Missy Luczak Smith and Doug Smith, and friends of the EAF.

“Creating an endowment fund is necessary to ensure long-term benefits exist and our commitment to help those in need is steadfast,” said R. Scot Evans, president of the Equestrian Aid Foundation. “Charlie was admired and respected by so many and it is an honor to remember him with the Charlie Weaver Legacy Fund.

“Launching the Charlie Weaver Legacy Fund during the Alltech National Horse Show was an obvious choice, as he was the hunter rider that broke all the records at the National Horse Show held at Madison Square Garden.”

Continue reading Building a Legacy of Hope – The Charlie Weaver Legacy Fund →

Contributors/Press

Why Sugar Causes Deafness, by Geoff Tucker, DVM

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It is almost impossible to imagine that these large muscular creatures we call horses get most of their energy from sugar. In my neck of the woods, I have not seen protein shakes for horses nor chicken tenders, though one of my clients does feed his horse chicken nuggets on occasion.

Sugar is served as cubes, apples, carrots, candy, all grain, and most hay and pasture. These are all sugar. Sugar needs insulin to be absorbed into the cells or it is lost. The two largest organs to use sugar are the brain followed by the skin, including the hooves.

Excess sugar is placed in holding cells including fat cells. This reserve is normal and necessary. Observations of feral horses show that horses fatten up before winter. Cattle that remains thin from summer draught stricken pastures die in the winter.

In the wild, the sugar intake ebbs and flows, but in domesticated horses, the sugar intake becomes constant. While the mechanism is still being accurately determined, it now is evident that chronic excess sugar intake can cause Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS). Signs include a cresty neck and fat deposits at the shoulders and tail head. Most significant is a rise in blood insulin levels and a strong predisposition for laminitis.

Continue reading Why Sugar Causes Deafness, by Geoff Tucker, DVM →