Tornado Causes Damage at Churchill Downs The National Weather Service confirmed that it was, in fact, a tornado that hit the Churchill Downs stable area on Wednesday night; the aftermath left 6 ½ barns uninhabitable, displacing horses and frazzling nerves but injuring neither human nor equine. “That to us is miraculous when you see the damage… Continue Reading.
GAO Report on Horse Processing Released The demise of the horse processing industry in the U.S. has not prevented horses from being sold for slaughter and has contributed to a rise in equine neglect and abuse incidents, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued Wednesday (June 22). The GAO is an independent nonpartisan agency… Continue Reading.
Lausanne (SUI), 23 June 2011 – The FEI Dressage Committee discussed several issues at its meeting in Paris (FRA) earlier this month and the following five key developments were decided upon.
Blood rule The committee proposed a new blood rule explicitly stating that the test would be stopped if blood appears anywhere on the horse.
At top level events (Olympic Games, Championships and Finals for seniors), where FEI vets will be present at the warm-up arena, they would examine the horse and the test would resume if bleeding from minor injuries had stopped.
If the bleeding had not stopped, the horse would be eliminated. Where vets are not present to examine the horse, bleeding would result in immediate elimination.
The FEI’s Vet Committee and Legal Department are considering the proposal for this rule, which would sit in Article 430.7.1. or Article 440 of the Rules for Dressage Events, which can be viewed here.
As always, rule revisions will be presented for National Federation approval at the FEI General Assembly in November for implementation on 1 January 2012.
Protective headgear The FEI Medical Committee has recommended making protective headgear mandatory across all disciplines when riding at show grounds outside competition arenas.
Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) named the following horse/rider combinations for CSIO5*competitions: Hickstead and Dublin, which are part of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup Series. These riders will jump at CSIO5* Hickstead, England, July 26-31 which is held in conjunction with the Longines Royal International Horse Show and CSIO5* Dublin, Ireland, August 3-7 as part of the prestigious Royal Dublin Horse Show.
Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) will ride Coral Reef Ranch’s Coral Reef Via Volo
Coral Reef Via Volo is a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare
Laura Kraut (Wellington, FL) will ride Happy Hill Farm’s Cedric or Stars and Stripes’ Tierra
Cedric is a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding
Teirra is an 11-year-old KWPN mare
Lauren Hough (Wellington, FL) will ride Laura and Meredith Mateo’s Quick Study
Quick Study is a 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding
Christine McCrea (Windsor, CT) will ride Windsor Show Stable’s Romantovich Take One
Romantovich Take One is an 11-year-old KWPN gelding
Kent Farrington (Chicago, IL) will ride R.C.G. Farm’s Uceko
Uceko is an 11-year-old KWPN gelding
Lexington, KY – The USEF has updated the Eventing High Performance Training Lists based on spring performances so far in 2011. Riders will be invited to participate in training sessions with USEF Technical Advisor Capt. Mark Phillips at competitions throughout the summer and fall seasons in preparation for the 2011 Pan American Games and 2012 Olympic Games.
Name/Age/Hometown
The following riders have been named to the High Performance A List:
Phillip Dutton/47/West Grove, PA
Will Faudree/29/Hoffman, NC
Sinead Halpin/29/Oldwick, NJ
Boyd Martin/31/West Grove, PA
The following riders have been named to the High Performance B List:
Jennie Brannigan/23/West Grove, PA
Hannah Sue Burnett/24/Ocala, FL
Will Coleman/28/Gordonsville, VA
Buck Davidson/35/ Riegelsville, PA
Clark Montgomery/30/Fairburn, GA
Karen O’Connor/53/The Plains, VA
Doug Payne/29/Pottersville, NJ
Michael Pollard/30/Dalton, GA
Julian Stiller/27/Berkshire, UK
Dates: June 17, 2011; July 22, 2011; August 19, 2011
Location: Longfield Stables at Palmetto Bluff
Organizers: Lauren Marcinkoski, Swamp Fox Farms; Gini Quade, Longfield Stables
Judge: TBA
Longfield Stables and Swamp Fox Farms are pleased to present the 2011 Sweat N’ Swat Show Series, hosted by Longfield Stables at Palmetto Bluff, on June 17, July 22 and August 19. The Sweat N’ Swat Show Series is a casual, fun horse show series designed for riders of all ages and levels. Show attire is NOT required; breeches and polo shirts are just fine. Show will start Friday afternoons at 4 p.m.!
Interested in sponsoring a division for the Series? Sponsors will receive access to a hospitality beverage tent, and receive a piece of Longfield Stables merchandise. We will announce your name as division sponsor and you can enjoy being a vital and integral part of our show series. Sponsorship opportunities are $500 for the series.
Additional information and entry forms are available on our website. We look forward to seeing you!
June 22, 2011 – Chicago (EWA) – In an effort to appear credible, the United Organizations of the Horse (UOH) has created what it calls communication tools to “to help the horse industry counter hysterical anti-slaughter claims with sound science and common sense.”
The simple marketing rule of “know your audience” has eluded UOH which offers it “tools” to the horse industry that overwhelming opposes horse slaughter. A recent poll on Popvox, a barometer for Congress to assess support on legislation, indicates 76% support the legislation (S 1176) to ban horse slaughter.
One of the most egregious of Wallis’ “communication tools” is the total disregard of FDA and European Union food safety regulations. Wallis has actually written her own regulations on Phenylbutazone (bute), a medication routinely given to U.S. horses that is banned in horses intended for food. She doesn’t think it’s a problem for people to eat horsemeat that contains a known carcinogenic and which can cause other deadly diseases.
The “science and common sense” has already been determined and it is up to Wallis to follow the law, not rewrite it.
Food safety laws aren’t “hysterical anti-slaughter claims”. Wallis’ refusal to follow food safety laws by creating her own rules should be a red flag to Congress about the misinformation offered to support horse slaughter.
Lausanne (SUI), 22 June 2011 – The host nation of Kazakhstan clinched gold in both the FEI Intermediate 1 and FEI Freestyle Intermediate 1 classes at the FEI Central Asian Dressage Championships 2011 staged in Almaty over the weekend. In a pitched battle between two seasoned riders during which good fortune swung in both directions, Sergey Buikevich claimed the Intermediate 1 title with Ispovednik while Natalyja Yurkevich squeezed ahead of Buikevich to take the FEI Freestyle Test with Don Petro.
It was a particularly satisfying result for the versatile and multiple medal-winning Buikevich, who is Vice President and Secretary General of the Equestrian Federation of Kazakhstan, Head Coach of the National Equestrian Team, an FEI Bureau Member and Chairman of FEI Group III as well as an International Jumping Judge.
The event took place in Almaty which is the former capital, and remains the largest city, in Kazakhstan. Located on the Silk Road – the legendary network of trade routes that stretch across Asia linking East to West – the city continues to be a major centre of commerce and a meeting place for visitors from all around the world. It has successfully staged a number of important equestrian events in recent years.
PERFECT START In 2009 these Championships were pitched at CDI 3-Star Big-Tour level, but this time around the standard was lowered and the competitions included a preliminary FEI Prix St Georges in which Buikevich got off to the perfect start last Friday.
Chester Weber is featured in an episode on HRTV called “Holding the Reins.” HRTV will re-air the show in June and July, with added commentary from Weber about his win in Hungary. (Photo courtesy of Altenfelden Hippoevent)
Ocala, FL (June 22, 2011) – Fans of USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driver Chester Weber have been lining up to congratulate the American driver following his victory at the CAIO Vecses, an international combined driving competition held recently in Vecses, Hungary. Weber won the Four-In-Hand division against a highly competitive field of international drivers.
HRTV, The Network for Horse Sports, recently aired a show on Weber called “Holding the Reins,” and they also congratulated Weber on his recent victory. HRTV said they will re-air “Holding the Reins” in June and July with an added interview in which Weber discusses his victory in Hungary. The show is a 24-minute look at the exciting world of combined driving – which is considered one of the fastest growing sports in the industry – and features the story of how Weber grew up on a Thoroughbred racehorse farm to become one of our country’s leading drivers.
Weber has had great success both internationally and nationally and is currently the USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion, a championship he has won a record eight years in a row. The goal-oriented Weber has his sights set on being the best in the world and during the HRTV show the United States Driving Chef d’Equipe, Ed Young, discussed Weber’s ambitions. “I think we will see Chester become the World Champion,” Young said.
“Holding the Reins” not only highlights Weber’s success, but also brings to light the intriguing and challenging sport of combined driving. The sport features speed, power, agility, grace, beauty and teamwork. “There are three phases in combined driving — dressage, the cross-country marathon and the cones. The cross-country is the real showstopper. You don’t have to like horses to appreciate the marathon,” Weber said.
Chester Weber won the Four-In-Hand competition at the 20th annual CAI-Altenfelden in Austria. Weber is now two-for-two in his European tour. (Photo courtesy of Marie de Ronde-Oudemans)
Altenfelden, Austria (June 22, 2011) – Combined Driver Chester Weber is now two-for-two in his European tour, winning the Four-In-Hand competition at the 20th annual CAI-Altenfelden in Austria. Weber’s win had the foreign press praising the American driver, referring to Weber as “remarkable,” “special guest,” “the American driving sport super star” and the “dressage specialist.”
Weber proved he was the “dressage specialist” in the four-in-hand, which the Europeans call the king discipline, by decidedly winning the dressage by 12 points. “I won the dressage, was fourth in the marathon and second in the cones,” Weber said. In combined driving the winner is the driver with the lowest cumulative score, and in the end the stars and stripes were flying as Weber captured the overall win.
While Weber and his team proved they were capable of winning the entire four-in-hand class with an 8-point lead, all eyes were on the American driver during his dressage test. European news sources reported that Weber was an “American driving sport super star who was in a class of his own” following his dressage test. “I work very hard with my team on the dressage, so I am flattered to hear so many great remarks about our test,” Weber said, adding that he is pleased with the two new horses on his team, Uniek and Splash owned by Jane Forbes Clark, as they have added depth and talent to his string.
Weber, who is the eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, described the Altenfelden driving competition as a great atmosphere. “I had a chance to meet and compete against drivers from the Eastern part of Europe,” he said. “I usually don’t have a chance to go up against these drivers so it was a great experience for me.”
Tami Hoag, pictured with her Grand Prix horse Bacchus de Light, recently appeared on the Equesse Radio Show. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Wellington, FL (June 22, 2011) – Dressage rider and New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag recently shared her insights on achieving personal and professional success on the Equesse Radio Show with Cynthia Royal and Leah Juarez. Equesse Radio, considered Horsepower for the Soul, captures the listener’s yearning to connect with horses through the stories of those who have. With interviews from a herd of horse-inspired celebrity authors, athletes, singers, entrepreneurs and artists, Equesse Radio gives a weekly gift of insight and inspiration.
“As a Number 1 New York Times Best Selling author with over 35 million books in print and as a competition-level athlete, Tami Hoag is just the type of horse-inspired celebrity the Equesse Radio audience craves,” said Cynthia Royal. “With achievements in both arenas of literature and the Olympic horse sport of dressage, Tami has insight on achieving personal and professional success that exemplifies the ‘Horsepower for the Soul’ theme on which Equesse Radio is built.”
Royal added, “In the show, Tami shares just how horses have influenced the character we publically know as ‘Tami Hoag’, as well as their impact on the characters she’s crafted in her books. But it’s her insight on the meditative balance horses provide to offset her career and life demands, plus her belief in allowing, even nurturing, the contribution of all beings – even those of her horse – that will resonate with listeners attempting to balance pursuit of their own life dreams,” Royal said.
Hoag, who lives in Wellington and competes her horses on the Grand Prix dressage circuit, said she enjoyed being on the show. “The theme of the day was Character and we talked about the characters of my horses and how they connect or translate in any way to my work as a writer. It was really an interesting and fun discussion,” Hoag said.
