All posts by Associate Editor

Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, Pan American Games, USEF

Additional Change to the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Short List for the Pan American Games

Leave a comment

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces an additional change to the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Short List for the Pan American Games. Sharon White withdrew Rafferty’s Rules on August 16, and the first substitute, Kevin Keane on Fernhill Flutter, has been moved up onto the Short List.

The complete Short List as of August 16:

Emily Beshear/34/Somerset, VA/Here’s to You/11/Thoroughbred/G/Deep Purple Eventing

Hannah Sue Burnett/25/Ocala, FL/Harbour Pilot/8/Irish Sport Horse/G/Jacqueline Mars

Anna Collier/35/Vancouver, WA/Upper Crust D/10/KWPN/G/Anna Collier

Bruce Davidson Jr./35/Ocala, FL/Absolute Liberty/8/Thoroughbred/M/Sharon Will

Jonathan Holling/34/Ocala, FL/ Downtown Harrison/7/Trakehner-Thoroughbred Cross/G/Constance Holling

Kevin Keane/56/Kennett Square, PA/Fernhill Flutter/9/Irish Sport Horse/G/Kevin Keane

Shannon Lilley/32/Gilroy, CA/Ballingowan Pizzaz/9/Irish Sport Horse/G/The Lilley Group

Boyd Martin/32/Cochranville, PA/Cold Harbor/11/Canadian Sport Horse/G/Dana Diemer

Maxance McManamy/19/Templeton, CA/Project Runway/7/Trakehner/G/Maxance McManamy

Michael Pollard/30/Dalton, GA/Schoensgreen Hanni/8/German Sport Horse/M/Natalie Pollard

Kristin Schmolze/28/Califon, NJ/Ballylaffin Bracken/11/Irish Sport Horse/G/ Kristin, Janet, and William Schmolze

Alexandra Slusher/24/Auburn, CA/Pierre/10/Hanoverian/G/Sandy Campbell

Tamra Smith/36/Murietta, CA/Mar de Amor/11/Selle Francais/G/Leigh Mesher

Lynn Symansky/28/Middleburg, VA/Donner/8/Thoroughbred/G/Lynn Symansky

Jolie Wentworth/30/Martinez, CA/Good Knight/9/Canadian Sport Horse/Tracy Bowman

Ranked Substitutes as of Aug. 16:

1. Jennifer Taxay Kelly/47/Agua Dulce, CA/Taboo/7/Thoroughbred/M/Jennifer Taxay Kelly

2. Matt Flynn/27/Potomac, MD/Breakthrough/7/Irish Sport Horse/G/Dr. and Mrs. A Patrick Flynn

More information about the 2011 Pan American Games is available at: http://www.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/01_inicio/.

Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 Day 1, Team Championship

Leave a comment

BRITISH TAKE THE LEAD IN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP AS DUJARDIN SHINES by Louise Parkes

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro produced a sparkling test to put Great Britain in the lead after the first day of the team competition at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today. Photo: FEI/Peter Nixon.

Rotterdam (NED), 17 August 2011 – Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) and Valegro created a great buzz of excitement with a delightful late-morning test at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today that put the British on course for team gold for the first time in the 25-year history of the event.

A score of 78.830 from the 26-year-old who has been working as stable-rider for team-mate Carl Hester for the last four years, has cemented the British position.  And it is now up to Dujardin’s boss, Hester riding the exciting Uthopia, and to Laura Bechtolsheimer with Mistral Hojris, to capitalise on the advantage provided by their considerably less-experienced colleague whose score, along with that of veteran Emile Faurie’s mark of 70.426 with Elmegardens Marquis, brought the British tally to 149.256.

Germany lies second as the action resumes in the morning, but they are heading the third-placed defending champions from The Netherlands by only just over a single point, so the battle for silver and bronze promises to be a close-fought affair.

HELD THE LEAD
Second into the arena, it was Helen Langehanenberg (GER) and Damon Hill NRW who held the lead after the first tranche of riders completed. But there was a tension about the work produced by the German duo who were awarded a score of 71.079. Meanwhile Faurie’s calm, controlled ride on the big bay gelding Elmegardens Marquis included some lovely piaffe, but few could have expected that his compatriot Dujardin would produce a personal-best performance on her debut at championship level to place the British in a position of such strength.

Continue reading FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 Day 1, Team Championship →

*Featured/Spotlights, Breeds, Wild Horse Sources

Pryor Scoping Letter Issued

Leave a comment

BLM Seeks Another Removal in Cloud’s Herd

Little Lynx. Photos (C) The Cloud Foundation

Dear Friends of Cloud, his family, and herd;
The BLM Billings Field Office mailed a Scoping Letter to interested parties on July 28th, stating their intent to reach an “Appropriate” Management Level (AML) of 90-120 adult wild horses, one year of age and older in the Pryor Mountains. If they carry out this plan 45 to as many as 75 horses would be removed in 2012. We cannot allow this to happen.

Our position is clear — there is absolutely no need for any removals.

It is important that you respond to an action which would threaten the continued existence of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd. Please write a factual letter to the BLM using some of the information provided here. Remember that BLM will not consider your response unless it is clearly your message — no copying of the list supplied here. Please use your own words to communicate your polite outrage at such an unwarranted proposal.

You will note in our list of recommended response topics, the support of PZP, the one-year infertility drug. This comes as a departure for TCF. However, the remotely delivered drug given at the correct time of year has reduced the foal population and it has given us a good argument to fight for no removals. We still strongly believe in the long-range goal of natural management without helicopters or bait traps or drugs. We see PZP as a means to an end, and that end is a hands off strategy in which Mother Nature calls the shots as much as possible.

Continue reading Pryor Scoping Letter Issued →

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Maclay, National Horse Show, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Alltech National Horse Show Finds a Home at the Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky

Leave a comment
Photo credit: Alltech

After a hundred plus year run in the heart of New York City at Madison Square Garden, the nation’s oldest indoor horse show has been somewhat nomadic for the past decade, having landed on the Piers in New York for two unsuccessful seasons following the departure from Madison Square Garden, and then stopping in Wellington, Florida, for four years before finally landing in Syracuse, NY, four years ago.

Then, after numerous complaints by a large segment of the National Horse Show exhibitor base, Mason Phelps, Jr., along with the progressive thinking members of the Board of Directors of the National Horse Show, spearheaded the drive to finally give this national equestrian treasure a permanent home. The site they chose was the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

“It was the logical and perfect place for the National,” Phelps said. “It’s quite simply one of the outstanding venues in the entire world. Also, the excellent management infrastructure that Hugh Kincannon has had in place for years makes this a seamless transition,” he noted.

The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition, will be held from November 2-6, 2011, at the beautiful, new Alltech Indoor Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

“I speak on behalf of the entire Kentucky Horse Park in saying that we are honored to be chosen as the venue of the Alltech National Horse Show and it is our sincere wish that it will be a long and happy association,” said John Nicholson, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park.

Continue reading Alltech National Horse Show Finds a Home at the Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky →

Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Red Rock Hounds Returns to Demonstrate Fox Hunting at 2011 $25,000 Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby

Leave a comment

Carson City, NV – August 16, 2011 – The 2011 $25,000 Franktown Meadows USHJA International Hunter Derby will take place at the Franktown Meadows Equestrian Facility in Carson City, Nevada on September 5, 2011. As spectators admire the beautiful hunter derby course set upon the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range they will be treated to a display of the sport of fox hunting by Lynn Lloyd of Red Rock Hounds from Reno, NV. Following the fox hunting presentation, the Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby will showcase the best horse and rider combinations in the country as they compete for the winning title.

Lynn Lloyd will demonstrate and explain the excitement of fox hunting, the hounds, and the tradition of this wonderful sport. This event will take place at 12:00 p.m. with the derby beginning at 1:00 p.m. Lloyd and her team at Red Rock Hounds will be parading 80 of her fabulous American bred Walker Hounds around the hunter derby course on horseback.  Lloyd is excited to gallop around and show off her prized hunting dogs as she enjoys sharing her passion with the public.

“I think it is good exposure for the hounds. It is part of the hunter derby,” noted Lloyd. “The derby came because of field hunting. All of the hunters came from the field or that’s how it all started so this is kind of presenting its roots. I think that they begin to understand that this is where hunters in the show ring began and that hunting in America is still available and we hope it stays available. I want people to understand the freedom and being in nature. I think it grounds people and I want them to remember the fun of horses. Sometimes I think they forget that.”

Lloyd began hunting in England where she became captivated with fox hunting. She explained, “The first time I heard the call of a hound something inside me came alive. I have not stopped hunting since. I feel as though I am the luckiest person on the face of the earth. We have so much land to hunt on in Nevada that you cannot believe it. You never have to stop the hounds or the horses and it is the best way to see nature and the beautiful state of Nevada.”

Continue reading Red Rock Hounds Returns to Demonstrate Fox Hunting at 2011 $25,000 Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby →

Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

Equine Therapy: Equine Dissociation, by Claire Dorotik

Leave a comment

While the mysticism of horses seems lost on none, and yet not entirely understood by even those who proclaim to be equine experts, one of the most touted benefits of our four legged friends is their unique ability to always be fully present. Indeed, horses appear to only live in the now. Yet is this always the case? Do all horses live exclusively in the present moment?

Surprisingly, the answer to this question is no. However, it is not without human interference that equine dissociation occurs.

When we speak of equine dissociation, or horses becoming disoriented to time, place, and person, we are essentially describing the same trauma reaction that can be seen in people who have witnessed, or experienced life threatening events. Yet, in the case of horses, perception is the key factor. While it may be relatively easy to determine what may or may not jeopardize the life of a person, the same conclusion is not so easy when attempting to view the situation through equine eyes. Implicit in this attempt is, of course, both the horse’s individual temperament — that which he is born with — as well as his own unique history.

Just like people, some horses seem to weather stress better than others. Therefore, what may rattle one horse will not necessarily rattle another. This difference in character then not only predisposes the nervous horse to increased trauma and fear, but also jeopardizes the very learning than would ameliorate the stress. Going further, again just like people, some horses enjoy the benefit of a positive upbringing full of human interactions that build trust and boost confidence, while others struggle to find even a handful of pleasant human experiences.

Often, it is the combination of the nervous equine character and a lack of pleasant interactions with people that then result in a horse that tends to dissociate.

Continue reading Equine Therapy: Equine Dissociation, by Claire Dorotik →

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #32, by Claire Dorotik

Leave a comment

NO SECRET SO CLOSE is the story of a the most unthinkable betrayal humanly possible — at only 24 years old, Claire Dorotik’s father has been murdered, her mother arrested, and now, in a sinister twist of fate, Claire’s mother points the finger at Claire, accusing her of killing her own father. Battling the feelings of loss, abandonment, terror, and dissociation, and also learning about them, Claire struggles to stay in her master’s program for psychotherapy. However, when Claire’s brothers also betray her and side with her mother, Claire is left all alone to care for the 18 horses she and her mother owned. As the story unfolds, what is revealed is the horses’ amazing capacity for empathy in the face of human trauma, and the almost psychic ability to provide the author with what had been taken from her. Arising from these horrifying circumstances, the most unthinkable heroes — the horses — show Claire that life is still worth living.

Excerpt #32 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:

We approached the house in a tense silence. Inadvertently, I glanced at the stalls underneath. I had long since made a habit of averting my eyes from them, focusing instead on the stairs. They were just too eerie. The old wooden stairs creaked as we stepped up them simultaneously, as if, at any moment, they might give way, sending us plummeting down.

Reaching the deck overlooking the riding arena, I gazed out, wishing I could be out there.

“Come on, Claire,” Alex snapped, pulling the sliding glass door open.

I followed him into the living room. Our white leather couches seemed horribly out of place, their willfully modern elegance out of step with the stained, tattered outdoor carpeting and pale grey walls. My mother, two aunts, and uncle all sat on the largest couch; my younger brother and older brother’s two friends, who had come for support the day after he arrived, were gathered on the smaller couch. Everyone was on the edge of their seat, faces nervous and expectant. Alex walked directly to my father’s favorite chair facing the TV. Clearly, he wanted to get this over with. I perched myself on the ottoman, closest to the door.

Continue reading NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #32, by Claire Dorotik →

Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 75, by Jane Savoie

Leave a comment

Jane says I’m too serious, and need to play more. She told me I should relax and enjoy life. I used to think she was crazy. I have lots of work to do, and I didn’t think I should waste time playing around. Dressage is serious business ya know, and I have to be PERFECT. But Jane taught me that dressage should be FUN first and serious second.

I’ve heard Jane tell visitors that I’m very wise, like a Socrates with four legs. There is an old record that says Socrates learned to dance when he was seventy because he felt that an essential part of himself had been neglected. So, I thought, perhaps I should learn to dance, too! Jane loved that idea. She cranked up the music and off we went!

To really dance well, you have to let go of the habit of looking at yourself through other people’s eyes. You have to stop that feedback loop. You have to risk looking silly. To dance you have to take a bit of the athlete in you and mix it with the artist in you. Unrestricted movement, without too much thinking, is the key. Shake, rattle, and roll, and you have a dance!

Do you like to dance? When was the last time you really let go and let your body move to the rhythm of the music? I suggest you try that today. Find a quiet room, close the door if you’re shy, and turn up the tunes. Release your mind as you release your body to move with the beat. Let go. Feel the freedom of movement. Close your eyes and really feel it.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 75, by Jane Savoie →

Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, Pan American Games, USEF

Changes to the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Short List for the Pan American Games

Leave a comment

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces the following changes to the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Short List for the Pan American Games:

Alexandra Slusher with Last Call and William Coleman III with Obos O’Reilly have withdrawn from consideration for the 2011 Pan American Games.

The first ranked substitute Shannon Lilley with Ballingowan Pizzaz and second ranked substitute, Alexandra Slusher with Pierre have been added on the Short List.

In addition, Boyd Martin and Cold Harbor have been granted permission by the USEF Eventing Selectors to be excused from competing at the Mandatory Outing at Richland Park August 25-28, 2011, for logistical reasons. Martin will be preparing to represent the U.S. on the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials to be held September 1-4, 2011, in the U.K., and will be unavailable to compete at Richland Park.

Continue reading Changes to the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Short List for the Pan American Games →

Community/Charity, Competitions, Events, HITS, Hunter/Equitation, Media/Radio/TV Sources, Show Jumping

HITS Joins Forces with HRTV, the Network for Horse Sports, and A Good Show to Bring Equine Show Jumping Competition to Broadcast Television Starting with the 2011 Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix

1 Comment
©ESI Photography. Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist McLain Ward of Brewster, New York captured the first ever Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix aboard Sapphire in September of 2010.

SAUGERTIES, NEW YORK (August 16, 2011) — HITS, Inc. is pleased to announce a multi-year partnership with HRTV and A Good Show (AGS) to bring coverage of the 2011 Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix and other select competition from the national HITS show series to broadcast television. As part of the deal, HRTV and A Good Show will also provide a free, live webcast of the second-annual Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix and first-ever Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final on Sunday, September 11.

“This is an exciting partnership that will, for the first time ever, bring both national and international coverage and attention to a U.S. show jumping series,” said Tom Struzzieri, HITS President & CEO. “We believe that by working with HRTV and A Good Show we will once again raise the bar for American show jumping and provide an opportunity for the world to watch some of the best in equestrian sport.”

In addition to the Pfizer Million coverage, this agreement will extend to include coverage of select high-profile events showcased at the 2012 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, California and the 2012 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit in Ocala, Florida.

HRTV, the Network for Horse Sports, is a 24/7 multimedia network dedicated to serving the news, information and entertainment needs of one of the world’s largest, but most underserved audiences – horse fans. Leading with the finest in thoroughbred racing, HRTV also delivers programming for virtually all equine sports.

Continue reading HITS Joins Forces with HRTV, the Network for Horse Sports, and A Good Show to Bring Equine Show Jumping Competition to Broadcast Television Starting with the 2011 Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix →