All posts by Associate Editor

A Field Account of a Colorado Roundup

Ginger & Trace in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, Colorado. Photo by Ann Evans

Dear Friends of the Wild;
I moved to Colorado nearly 40 years ago, captivated by the wild beauty of this inspiring place. Here I could immerse myself in true wilderness where opportunities existed to glimpse animals I had only seen in pictures — mountain lions, bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, black bears, golden eagles, mountain goats, and even wild horses.

Much has changed in these last four decades. Colorado has been highly developed on the front range of our magnificent Rockies, but there are still those hauntingly beautiful, undisturbed landscapes I once dreamed about. Linda Hanick, an extraordinary Colorado wild horse advocate, writes about one of them in her report below.

Our state has only a few hundred wild horses remaining and often they live tucked away in secluded country like that visited by Linda last week. She was present on the last day of the largest roundup of the year in Colorado. Over two hundred robust, glowing mustangs were stampeded by a helicopter, losing in an instant what they value most — their freedom and their families. I encourage you to read the account of her journey to Colorado’s western slope.

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Land Rover US Eventing Team Fifth after Dressage at Boekelo CCI3*

The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team lies fifth out of 13 teams after the first day of dressage at the 2011 Boekelo CCI3* on a combined score of 152.8. The team is led by Team veteran Boyd Martin, who is in eighth place with Henley House Stables’ Remington XXV. They did their dressage test on Thursday.

Great Britain leads the way in the team competition on a score of 137.40 – they are followed by Germany, Ireland, Sweden and then the U.S. All five are within 15.4 points.  The U.S. is competing without the luxury of a drop score – so all three riders’ scores will count in each phase.

Complete team scores are available here: http://janssen.sportcg.net/2011/boekelo/nationcup01.html.

In Friday dressage action, Michael Pollard (Dalton, GA) backed up Martin’s score with 52.8 on Nathalie Pollard, Carl Bouckaert and his own DV8. They are in 41st. Right behind him on 54.8 is Tamra Smith (Murrieta, CA) on Leigh Mesher’s Mar de Amor. Martin (West Grove, PA) is also riding Otis Barbotiere for the Otis Barbotiere Syndicate as an individual. They scored 55.6 to round out the U.S. effort. All of these horses are in the top half of the field of 109 starters.

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Kingston and Jazz Johnson Merton Crowned Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions at 2011 Capital Challenge Horse Show

Kingston and Jazz Johnson Merton. Photo © Parker/Russell - The Book LLC and Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.

Upper Marlboro, MD – October 6, 2011 – In a day full of amateur competition, the Capital Challenge Horse Show awarded seven championships and two grand championships. Jazz Johnson Merton of Pottersville, NJ, won the Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship aboard Kingston. The Grand Adult Amateur Hunter Champions were Music Street and Lindsey Evans Thomas. The evening session hosted the $10,000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Challenge sponsored by Jan Agardy Metzer and Sea Shore Partners LLC. Kaley Pratt and Shane were the fastest in the jump-off for the win.

The remaining highlight class of the week for the professional hunter riders is the $7,500 WCHR Professional Finals, presented by the John R. Ingram Fund, for the top six hunter riders in the country on Friday, October 7. The Capital Challenge Horse Show, held at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center, will run through Sunday, October 9.

Johnson Merton and Kingston were champions in the Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunters sponsored by The Hallman Family and MerryLegs South. They won two over fences classes and were fifth in another, and they added a fifth in the under saddle class for the top tricolor. The reserve champion was Thoughtful, ridden and owned by Keri Guanciale. They placed second and fourth over fences and won the under saddle class.

This was the first time that Johnson Merton and Kingston have been champions at the Capital Challenge, but they have stepped into the winner’s circle before. They have been champion and reserve champion at the Devon Horse Show, and they were named champions at the Washington International Horse Show.

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Record Entry for Pan-Americans 2011 in Guadalajara

Lausanne (SUI), 7 October 2011 – A record number of horse-and-rider combinations will compete in the equestrian events at the 16th Pan-American Games which kick off in Guadalajara, Mexico in just over a week’s time, on Sunday 16 October.  This is the world’s largest multi-sport event apart from the summer Olympics, and takes place on a four-year cycle leading up to each Olympic fixture.

Held in accordance with the Olympic Charter and Rules, the Pan-Americans provide Olympic qualification opportunities for athletes in FEI geographical regions D and E – North America and Central/South America. More than 5,000 athletes will take part in 46 different sports and almost 400 events during the two weeks of world-class competition and, in the three equestrian disciplines of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, a total of 157 partnerships are expected to line out.  The 2011 fixture brings together athletes from 42 countries.

ORIGINS
The first Pan-American Games took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1951, but its origins date back more than 20 years earlier. During an Olympic Congress that coincided with the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France, the members of the International Olympic Committees of Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico proposed the creation of a regional sports event in which Central American countries would participate. This became a reality two years later when Mexico City hosted the first Central American Games.

Then, at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, USA, some of the Latin American delegates proposed the staging of regional Games for the Americas, and this led to the first meeting of the Pan American Sports Congress in Buenos Aires in August 1940.  Plans were made for the first Pan-American Games in 1942, but World War II got in the way of that.  However the plans were revived at a congress held in London during the 1948 Olympic Games and, at last, the Pan-Americans became a reality when, in February 1951, more than 2,500 athletes from 22 countries descended on Buenos Aires for the inaugural event.

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Eighty-four Riders to Contest the 2011 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – East

Lexington, KY – The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2011 and this year’s competition is a strong as ever. The championship style competition again hosts finals for the top up-and-coming junior and young riders on both the east and west coasts. This weekend all eyes will be on the U.S. Equestrian Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ for the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – East. Two weeks ago Demi Stiegler topped a field of more than 40 riders judged by Sue Ashe and Molly Cawley-Ashe in the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – West at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – East

The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – East will host 84 of the top young competitors from the hunter and jumper ranks. Making up the strong field that descends upon Gladstone October 7-9 are USEF National Champions, Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) medalists and highly decorated equitation stars. George Morris and Jimmy Lee will serve as the judges.

Lillie Keenan (New York, NY) heads to Gladstone on a mission after winning at nearly every turn this summer. At the beginning of August, she won both the Reserve and Grand Championship at the 2011 USEF National Junior Hunter Championship – East Coast. Three weeks later in Kentucky, Keenan brought spectators to their feet at the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals as she piloted C Coast Z to a resounding victory. Learn more about the former USEF Pony Finals champion’s win in Lexington here: http://usefnetwork.com/news/7489/2011/8/21/lillie_keenan_and_c_coast_z_win_the.aspx.

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Horses Added to Kentucky Proud Program

Lexington, KY (October 6, 2011) — The Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), and the Kentucky Horse Council (KHC) announced today that horses have been added to the Kentucky Proud program. As new members of Kentucky Proud, horse farms in the Commonwealth will be eligible to receive financial grants from the state Department of Agriculture, will be eligible to participate in a cost-share program, and will be able to use the Kentucky Proud logo in advertising their equine products.

The Kentucky Proud program was created to promote Kentucky-agricultural products.  Over the years, the program has grown significantly and now includes businesses that support and sell Kentucky products as well as those that promote the concept of buying agricultural products from Kentucky.

“Both KEEP and KHC have worked for years to promote Kentucky’s equine industry,” said Patrick Neely, KEEP Executive Director. “The addition of horses to the Kentucky Proud program will allow Kentucky horse farms to apply for grants and to grow their businesses by joining the well-known Kentucky Proud advertising and marketing initiatives.  We appreciate that the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has taken this important step to assist our signature industry and the thousands of jobs it creates.”

Anna Zinkhon, President of the Kentucky Horse Council Board, added: “The Kentucky Horse Council is glad to partner with KEEP on this important new program.  Two years ago, my predecessor, Madelyn Millard, initiated the idea by approaching KDA regarding a Kentucky Proud for Horses. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s interest in adding horses to this highly successful agricultural program enhances our farms’ abilities to market their horses nationally and internationally.”

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Local Rider Christina Kelly Qualifies for the Alltech National Horse Show

Christina Kelly competing in the Amateur Owner Jumpers in Kentucky. Photo: Rebecca Walton

Lexington, KY – October 5, 2011 – The Alltech National Horse Show’s debut at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, is just a few weeks away, and local rider Christina Kelly is quickly preparing for her own debut at the event. Kelly is based out of her family’s Diamond Edge Farm in Nicholasville, KY, and will be competing in the $25,000 Junior Jumper Division, as well as the $50,000 SJHOF Junior/Amateur Championships, sponsored by Sleepy P Ranch, Chansonette and Deeridge Farm.

Although Kelly represents Ireland, she has been competing in the United States for a number of years and has taken the circuit by storm in 2011. She has won numerous Junior Jumper Classics aboard her three talented mounts: Camirage, Creata Van Ten Biesen, and HH Narcos Du Marais, which have all earned a spot on the qualification list for this year’s Alltech National Horse Show.

“This is my first year competing during the Alltech National Horse Show, and I love the Kentucky Horse Park so I think it’s going to be a great event,” commented Kelly. “There are a lot of European riders coming over for the other classes and I think it’s going to be a great horse show, especially because it will be in the Alltech Arena. It’s going to be focused on that main event and I think it will be amazing.”

Kelly continued, “I love the Kentucky Horse Park. We stay there for five weeks during the summer and the horses never seem to get tired of it. They jump so much better on that footing and they have the grass field to ride in, I think they really like it and they perform better there.”

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Strong Start at Boekelo for Land Rover US Eventing Team

Remington XXV, the first of four Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team horses to contest the Boekelo CCI3* in the Netherlands, got the team off to a good start on the first day of dressage. With Boyd Martin (West Grove, PA), he put in a polished performance to finish on a score of 45.8. This effort puts them fourth after the first day of dressage.

Henley House Stables’ 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding has had top finishes at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone and the Pau CCI4*, but this is his first attempt at Holland’s showcase CCI3*.

“He was good,” said Martin after his ride. “It wasn’t his best test but he went in there and handled the atmosphere and put in a workmanlike test.”

Zara Phillips leads the way for Great Britain at the halfway point with Lord Lauries on a score of 40.6.

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The Land Rover US Eventing Team Takes on Strong Field at the Boekelo CCI3*

Four American horses and three riders are set to take on a huge and hugely competitive field at the Boekelo CCI3* in The Netherlands. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for Boekelo is comprised of Boyd Martin’s pair Remington XXV (owned by Henley House Stables, LLC) and Otis Barbotiere (owned by The Otis Barbotiere Syndicate), Michael Pollard on his own, his wife Nathalie’s and his father-in-law Carl Bouckaert’s DV8, and Tamra Smith on Leigh Mesher’s Mar de Amor.

“I’m really excited to be representing the US at Boekelo,” said Pollard. “DV8 seems to be going really well, and the course seems like it will really suit him. I believe this will be a great progression for him, and I will look to contribute a good score for the team.”

Pollard (Dalton, GA) was also named to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the 2011 Pan American Games with Schoensgreen Hanni set to take place in Guadalajara later this month. Learn more about the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the 2011 Pan American Games here: http://usef.org/_IFrames/newsdisplay/viewPR.aspx?id=7533&star=true.

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Canadian Eventer Kim Logue Wins Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience to Train with Chester Weber through Gift of the Horse Website Contest

Kim Logue is Chester Weber’s biggest fan and won an essay contest for an opportunity to train with the legendary combined driver. (Photo courtesy of Ze’ev Gedalof)

Ocala, FL (September 8, 2011) – Canadian rider Kim Logue may just be the biggest fan of Combined Driver Chester Weber, a fact she proved when she won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend two days on Weber’s Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, Florida, training with the legendary combined driver. Logue won the contest on the Gift of the Horse website by writing an award winning essay explaining why she is Weber’s biggest fan.

In her winning essay she said, “Chester Weber is a champion many times over, but there are other reasons I am his number one fan. He has been the introduction to the sport of Combined Driving, not just for me, but also for countless enthusiasts. I can vividly remember an entrancing demo during the Symphony of the Horse Charity Fundraiser in Gainesville, Florida where he was wearing a headset mic and whipping around the arena describing the sport in general, as well as the specific methods he was using moment by moment, with his team in action, to give a taste of the sport.”

Logue went on to write that she admires that fact that Weber believes in cross training his horses and she added that she is his number one fan, “because of the respect and appreciation he has shown for his carefully selected staff team. I am his number one fan because he is known to provide horses to students from time to time, including Canadians! I am his number one fan because he is known to invest in horses being shown in other sports, including by Canadian riders. I am his number one fan because some of the most amazing photographs published of him are taken by his wife.”

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