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Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #11, by Claire Dorotik

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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 #11 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:

“Come again.”

We trotted back again, and I glanced at Bill’s face. So far no reaction.

He squared the oxer, and pulled the ground lines out a little.

“Canter back over.”

Nimo hopped into the canter with enthusiasm, and galloped roundly toward the oxer. We jumped confidently and cantered off. Still nothing, and Bill raised the rails on each side.

Continue reading NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #11, by Claire Dorotik →

Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

Do Horses Bond Like People Do? by Claire Dorotik MA

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Human attachments are a complex business. For one thing, when two people come together, they are often unaware of just what it is about one another that creates the attraction. On the other hand, when we are repelled by another person, identifying what about them bothers us is not the problem, yet why this behavior or characteristic infuriates us is quite another matter. But in the world of psychology, categorizing attachments styles has shed much light into the complexities of relationships. Now enter horses. When a horse and a person meet, are horses prone to the same types of attachments that people are? That is to say, can we actually classify their relationships with us or one another into categories the way we do with people?

Looking in the matter further, some established horsemen have attempted to do just that. Pat Parelli, (www.parellinaturalhorsetraining.com), one of the forerunners of the natural horse movement, promulgates what he calls “horsenality types.” Using a pie chart with related descriptions, Parelli breaks down horses’ personalities into four basic types, right brain introvert, right brain extrovert, left brain introvert, and left brain extrovert.

On the other side of the coin, some equine therapy programs attempt to address attachment styles of participants through the horse’s responses to them. One prominent one, Gestalt Equine Therapy (www.gestaltequinepsychotherapy.com), addresses this topic by using congruence levels of people — as reflected by the horse’s willingness to be near them — to determine secure, vs. insecure attachments styles. The idea is that when a person is experiencing congruence, his/her attachment style can be said to be secure. While this approach can be quite revealing about the participants attachment style, the horse’s attachment style is not taken into consideration.

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Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 54, by Jane Savoie

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You get more of whatever you think about. It’s true! Anything you give your attention to increases. That includes the bad stuff. This rule doesn’t have an opinion about “good” or “bad.” It just is.

You humans live in a “fix it” culture. You are trained to search for what’s wrong. That’s fine, if you’re looking for a stone in my hoof or a burr embedded in my saddle pad. But when you focus on what’s amiss with everything and everyone around you, you can really mess up your life.

The best example of this rule causing trouble is in relationships. It doesn’t matter if it is the relationship with your mate, your boss, your best friend, or your horse. If you spend more time looking for what’s wrong with that person/horse or the relationship you have together than you do looking for and appreciating what’s right, you will become out of sync with that person/horse until you will feel compelled to fight with her, or leave her. It’s a rule. It will happen!

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*Featured/Spotlights, Breeds, Contributors/Press, Media/Radio/TV Sources, Rescue/Protection Sources

Willie & The Nelson Family Sing “Wild Horses”

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Country Music Legend Covers Stones Classic to Help Animal Welfare Institute Protect America’s Horses

March 22, 2011 (Washington, D.C.) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is honored to announce the exclusive release of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Wild Horses” – performed and produced by the legendary Willie Nelson and his family members.  Willie & The Nelson Family are donating the proceeds from the sale of the song to AWI’s campaigns on behalf of wild and domestic horses.  Willie and the entire Nelson family are long-time supporters of AWI and its efforts to end horse slaughter and preserve the right of wild horses to roam free.

“The BLM has been rounding them up at an alarming rate, supposedly for their own good. Sadly, there are more wild horses in holding pens than in the wild. Something is wrong with that, so we must act now before the BLM has managed these magnificent animals into extinction,” said Willie Nelson. “It’s time for the cowboys to stand up for the horses.”

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was enacted in 1971 to halt the disappearance of these iconic animals from public lands in the American West.  Since then, however, over 20 million acres of land set aside by Congress for wild horses have been removed from their range, even as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — the very agency charged with their protection — claims there is not enough land to support existing herds.  The BLM is unnecessarily removing horses based on spurious claims of damage to range and other adverse impacts.  The BLM’s mismanagement of America’s wild horses is largely designed to benefit a livestock industry that has for decades, exploited western public lands while profiting from massive subsidies funded by taxpayer dollars.  Willie & The Nelson Family and AWI are calling on the BLM and the Obama administration to immediately halt all wild horse round-ups, restore the land provided by law to wild horses and to stop warehousing horses on private lands at even greater expense to the taxpayer.

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Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI

FEI Bureau Approves Points System for HSBC FEI Classics 2011

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Lausanne (SUI), 21 March 2011 – The FEI Bureau has approved a revised points system for the HSBC FEI Classics 2011 series.

The new system, which takes on board recommendations from event organisers involved in the series, has now been brought in line with other rankings and standings in Eventing.

Information on the revised points system can be found here.

HSBC has supported the HSBC FEI Classics series since 2008 and will be contributing US$ 1 million in prize money over the next three years, which represents the biggest pot on offer in Eventing on an annual basis.

The HSBC FEI Classics 2011 series, which offers a prize of US$150,000 to the series champion, once again takes in the five four-star events – the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (USA), Luhmühlen CCI 4* presented by E.ON (GER), The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR) and Les Etoiles de Pau CCI 4* (FRA).

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping

Nick Skelton and Big Star Continue to Shine in $78,000 Pennfield Feeds Grand Prix, CSI 2*

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Nick Skelton and Big Star. All photos © Sportfot

Pasmore Wins Final Round; Kessler, Jacobs and Arcand Top the Standings to Compete at the EY Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany

Wellington, FL – March 20, 2011 – Week 10 of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) concluded with two great events at The Stadium, the grass field venue at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Nick Skelton (GBR) and Big Star, owned by Beverly and Gary Widdowson, notched another big win this circuit by taking the top prize in the $78,000 Pennfield Feeds Grand Prix, CSI 2*.

The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival’s feature event, the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5* will be next week on Saturday, March 26. The 2011 WEF will continue through April 3 and awards more than $6 million in prize money.

Michel Vaillancourt of Aiken, SC, was the designer for the classes at The Stadium today. There were 43 entries in the grand prix, and seven of those went clear to advance to the jump-off. The first entry in the class and the first to return was Hector Florentino (DOM) on Stransky’s Mission Farm’s Ultimo. They had a rail at 8b, the oxer out of the double combination, for four faults in 46.50 seconds. They finished in seventh place.

Continue reading Nick Skelton and Big Star Continue to Shine in $78,000 Pennfield Feeds Grand Prix, CSI 2* →

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – Mushrooms to the Rescue for a Healthy Horse

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Cough, sneeze, sniffle!

Cold and flu season not quite over and horses too can fall victim to the runny-nose blues.

While humans can try to avoid contact with other ill people, cover their achoo-ing and attempt to wash their hands with the same germaphobic zeal as Howie Mandel; the fact is, horses simply can’t keep up.

Two critical conditions exist that make horses (and humans) sick:

First, the cold.

Now remember, it’s not literally the cold that causes a cold or the flu. It’s the body’s reaction to those decreased temperatures. Horses who are kept outside or in cold stalls during the chilly season exert more energy to maintain a core body temperature (through, for example, shivering). As a result, calories are diverted to temperature upkeep rather than immune system maintenance.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, FEI, Revolution Sports, Show Jumping

Rolex One to Watch – February 2011

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Jamal Rahimov - February's Rolex One to Watch

17 March 2011 – The Rolex One to Watch for February 2011 is the Azerbaijani rider, Jamal Rahimov. Based in Belgium, the 23-year-old jumped from number 469 to 198 during February – a move up the Rolex Rankings of 271 places.

The Rolex One to Watch is a new initiative which identifies the rider who has made the biggest jump within or into the Top 250 of the Rolex Rankings the previous month.

Having represented his country at Junior and Young Rider Championships, Rahimov went on to ride at the 2008 Olympic Games. Late in 2009 he won the Grand Prix at the CSI2* event in Paris. 2010 witnessed solid performances by the young Azerbaijani at Arezzo (ITA), Offenburg (GER) and Nantes (FRA). Recent victories include the 2011 CSI2*-W Baku (AZE) Embawood Cup, part of the “Winter Cup” Tournament, which he won with the gelding TOPIC V.V.

For details online featuring the Rolex Rankings please visit: The Rolex Rankings and for a more detailed biography of Jamal Rahimov, please visit the FEI website.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Eventing/H.T., Events, Racing

CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP, ENGLAND, by LYNN LAWSON

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LONG RUN became the youngest horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup for nearly 50 years in a truly enthralling race. The showpiece of the festival lived up to its name when the Nicky Henderson trained horse powered to a seven length victory ridden by amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen. Kauto Star and Denman, the previous Gold Cup winners ( 2007, 2008, 2009 ) trained by Paul Nicholls, put up an immensely brave challenge together with last year’s victor, Imperial Commander but eventually bowed down to the strength of the young contender. The 6 year old French bred gelding, owned by the father of the jockey went off as 7-2 favourite giving his Berkshire based trainer the elusive victory that he has sought for 33 years.

Denman ran a terrific race in defeat to finish runner up for the second year and stable mate Kauto Star held on to third place. Thirteen horses went to post for the 3m 2½ furlong Steeple Chase which was first run in 1924 and now boasts £500,000 in prize money.

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, Show Jumping

Richard Spooner and Lady Like Race to Finish in $50,000 Vita Flex Match Races

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Richard Spooner and Lady Like won the $50,000 Vita Flex Match Races. Photo © Sportfot

Ali Wolff and Lanoo Lap the Pros in the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic

Wellington, FL – March 19, 2011 – It was a fun night of competition with a highlight event, the $50,000 Vita Flex Match Races at the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Advancing through five rounds of races, it was Richard Spooner (USA) and Lady Like, owned by the C&S Partnership LLC who finished as the winners. In the final round, they topped Daniela Cordero of the Dominican Republic and T Cavalier.

The FTI WEF’s tenth week of competition, sponsored by Artisan Farms, continues through Sunday, March 20. Sunday will conclude week ten at The Stadium with the $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Riders Grand Prix at 10 a.m. and the $78,000 Pennfield Feeds FEI CSI 2* Grand Prix at 2 p.m., each held on the grass field at The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center Stadium. The 2011 WEF will continue through April 3 and award more than $6 million in prize money.

There were 32 combinations in tonight’s Match Races. The course was set by Michel Vaillancourt of Aiken, SC, and it featured a race down the middle of the ring over the final line on the mirror-image courses. The class was held in bracket format with head-to-head competition.

Continue reading Richard Spooner and Lady Like Race to Finish in $50,000 Vita Flex Match Races →