All posts by Associate Editor

Parelli Rider Dominates the Show Ring Thanks to Natural Horsemanship Skills

Florida rider Leslie Ann Weiler put her eight years of Parelli Natural Horsemanship training to good use in 2010 when she rode her Andalusian mare, Lucea BR, to the US National Grand Champion Andalusian Mare title in the Amateur division. Weiler is a Parelli Level 2 graduate and recommends the Parelli Natural Horsemanship program for riders of all disciplines and levels. (Photo courtesy of Cheri Prill)

Ocala, FL (January 19, 2011) – Florida rider Leslie Ann Weiler put her eight years of Parelli Natural Horsemanship training to good use in 2010 when she showed her Andalusian mare, Lucea BR, to the US National Grand Champion Andalusian Mare Amateur title. Weiler and Lucea didn’t stop there, but dominated the show ring throughout the year to ride away with as the US National Grand Champion Western Amateur, the US National Grand Champion Western Pleasure Vintage Rider, the US National Grand Champion Hunt Seat Pleasure Amateur and the USEF National Reserve Champion Amateur Horse of the Year.

Weiler, who rides with trainer Gareth Selwood in Newberry, Florida, praises Selwood for helping her throughout the show year but also acknowledges she couldn’t have done it without her Parelli background. “My success with Lucea shows what a Parelli rider can do with a solid foundation of natural horsemanship, a great horse and a dedicated trainer,” Weiler said. “For riders who aren’t familiar with Parelli, they will find that natural horsemanship helps the rider and horse develop a great relationship. I think everyone should try it and they will find out that it is addicting to have a relationship with your horse!”

Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc., was founded by Pat and Linda Parelli with the goal of helping all horse owners achieve success without force while developing a natural and harmonious relationship with their horse. “Parelli gives riders a necessary foundation from which they can move confidently into the competitive horse show world,” Selwood said, when asked about Weiler’s success and how natural horsemanship affected it. “The Parelli system prepares riders so they can excel in all disciplines. It certainly makes my life as a coach much easier if my students have a good start in natural horsemanship.”

Continue reading Parelli Rider Dominates the Show Ring Thanks to Natural Horsemanship Skills

Background Info on Diamonds in the Rough Horse Rescue

By Diane Walsh

I volunteer at a non-profit 501C horse rescue/rehab/retirement facility down here in St. Augustine, FL.  We are the only such organization in our region and are currently home to 13 horses at different levels of rehabilitation. We are also home to a very famous mare, Awaiting Justice, who is the great grand-daughter of the Triple Crown Winner, Secretariat!  Why is she so famous? As a filly, she was owned by Garrett Redmond of Kentucky, who legally sought the right to name her Sally Hemmings after Thomas Jefferson’s famous slave and reputed lover. Redmond made international headlines when he sued The Jockey Club for that right but lost the suit. Awaiting Justice went on to race at Churchill Downs, but was eventually sold by Mr. Redmond, sold again and then again until she ended up at a horse boarding facility in St. Augustine area. A boarder at the facility did not want to go to the trouble of shipping her (Awaiting Justice) back home, so the mare was sold to the students for about $1.00, left at the boarding facility.

Last year, Marie Matte, the founder of Diamonds in the Rough, received an urgent call from the mother of one of the students who had purchased the mare that she (the mare) was in an advanced state of starvation at the nearby boarding facility. Marie brought the mare back to the farm and provided her with the necessary medical attention, food, shelter and love she so richly deserved. Today, Serafina, as we’ve renamed her, is a happy, healthy and vibrant personality here at the farm. Another member of our farm is a descendant of War Admiral and Man o’ War! Celebrity lineage doesn’t get better than this in the world of horse rescue!

Diane Walsh

Advertising/Admin Assist

The Record

One News Place

St. Augustine, FL 32086

diane.walsh@staugustine.com

Caroline Roffman Kicks Off New Year by Competing In and Winning Young Rider Grand Prix

Caroline Roffman competed in and won her first Grand Prix on her Danish horse Lux Stensvang at the Wellington Classic Dressage Challenge I Show. (Photo courtesy of HorseSportsPhoto .com)

Wellington, FL (January 18, 2011) – Dressage rider Caroline Roffman kicked off the New Year by competing in and winning the Young Rider Grand Prix on Lux Stensvang at the Wellington Classic Dressage Challenge I Show. Roffman, who was named the 2010 FEI Rising Star by the International Equestrian Federation, won the FEI or Equivalent Test of Choice Open on Lux with a score of 68.605% and also rode Pie to the win in the FEI or Equivalent Test of Choice Open with a 72.105%.

“It was only mine and Lux’s second time riding the Young Rider Grand Prix,” Roffman said. “I purchased Lux, who is nine years old, from Blue Horse Stud in Denmark through my trainer Lars Petersen. He is a Danish gelding by Lobster, and I’ve owned him for about a year and a half. We rode the Young Rider Grand Prix for the first time at the Wellington Classic Dressage Holiday Challenge in December, and it went really well.  But I was also really nervous. So nervous, in fact, I forgot to salute at the end!  But at this past show, our second time showing the Young Rider Grand Prix, things went much smoother and our scores are steadily improving.”

Continue reading Caroline Roffman Kicks Off New Year by Competing In and Winning Young Rider Grand Prix

Olympic Dressage Rider Dottie Morkis Offers Lessons and Clinics during Winter Show Season

Olympic Dressage rider Dottie Morkis is in Wellington, Florida for the winter dressage circuit and is accepting new students and teaching clinics. Shown here is a happy Dottie Morkis exiting the dressage arena in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. (Photo Courtesy of Hugo M. Czerny)

Wellington, FL (January 18, 2011) – Olympic Dressage rider Dottie Morkis, who in 1976 anchored the Olympic U.S. Dressage team to help the Americans win the bronze medal, is in Wellington, Florida for the winter dressage circuit and is accepting new students and teaching clinics. During the Olympics, Morkis also placed fifth in the Grand Prix Special and will go down in history as the first American to earn that accomplishment.

While Morkis looks back fondly on her Olympic days, her list of accomplishments stretches far beyond her bronze medal. Morkis is a Pan Am Gold and Bronze medalist, has been in the winner’s circle multiple times at prestigious shows such as Devon and Washington International, coached the Gold Medal Paralympics Team in Atlanta, has shown horses to the USDF Horse of the Year title, served 12 years on the Athlete Advisory Committee as the equestrian representative to the U.S. Olympic Committee, twice won Team Golds at the Olympic Festival, was reserve rider for the World Cup and was long listed for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

“Looking back at my career I feel very fortunate,” Morkis said. “In addition to competing and traveling around the world, I have been coming to Wellington every winter for the past 24 years and always enjoy it. I love to ride and compete, but I also love to teach. When a student is excited and shows a great deal of interest in improving, I find it to be a rewarding experience.”

Continue reading Olympic Dressage Rider Dottie Morkis Offers Lessons and Clinics during Winter Show Season

Dressage Rider & Bestseller Tami Hoag Unveils New Novel to Wellington Horse Community

Tami Hoag is joined by her longtime friend and dressage trainer Betsy Steiner during Hoag’s book signing at the Wellington dressage boutique. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Wellington, FL (January 18, 2011) – Dressage rider and New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag knows how to write a spine-tingling murder mystery and she also knows how to bring in a standing-room only crowd when unveiling a new novel. Hoag did just that recently, when she unveiled her newest novel Secrets to the Grave to the Wellington horse community while on a book tour that had her stopping at the Wellington dressage boutique Sho Clothes and their monthly “Shop Talk” gathering.

Hoag, who has 15 New York Times bestsellers to her name, shared the secrets behind Secrets to the Grave and also signed her novels after her talk. While Hoag has fans all over the world, she makes her home in Wellington and is well known in the equestrian community as both a writer and a rider.

“It was an impressive crowd and a lot of fun,” Hoag said, about her evening at Sho Clothes. “My longtime trainer Betsy Steiner came to the book signing, as well as many old and new friends. It is always good to catch up with all my riding buddies.”

Continue reading Dressage Rider & Bestseller Tami Hoag Unveils New Novel to Wellington Horse Community

Update on BLM, Antelope Complex Gather, & Politico Campaign Launch

Dear Friends & Supporters,
We thoughtfully planned out an online and print campaign in Politico to run today, January 18th. It was the best outlet to target the right audience to get the most attention and a solution to the wild horse issues we are facing.

The audience is composed of the country’s innovators and high-end consumers:

  • Thought Leaders and Opinion Influencers
  • Key Decision Makers in Business and Finance
  • Investors
  • Community Leaders and Concerned Citizens
  • Journalists
  • Educators
  • Federal, State & Local Elected Officials and Policymakers

With one click you can reach:

2010 Site stats:
3,723,219 Unique Visitors
10,064,124 Visits
25,230,687 Page views
Source: Google Analytics

Demographics:
18-34 yrs old – 10%
35-49 yrs old – 39%
50+ yrs old – 47%
Male – 73% / Female – 27%
Average HHI 60k-100k – 30%
Average HHI over $100k – 42%
College – 49%
Graduate School – 34%
Source: Quantcast

Please TAKE ACTION today to stop the Antelope Complex gather this January 2011.

Continue reading Update on BLM, Antelope Complex Gather, & Politico Campaign Launch

“Green”, Alternative Tarp for Farm and Ranch… Cover for Hay, Crops, etc.

Recycled advertising billboard vinyls are being repurposed as tarp material – www.recycledbillboardtarps.com – for farmers and ranchers that want to cover grass, alfalfa, make windscreens, or use as floor covering stuff in the barn.  In addition to being a “green” tarp alternative, they are also cheap and effective.

These waterproof vinyls are super, heavy duty (20 mils thick and 13 oz/yd material) and they’re a heavier material than most any stuff you’d buy at the store.  (The blue tarps at Home Depot are just 5 mils thick.)  And they are about 75% less expensive than store bought tarps of similar quality!

These tarps can also be seamed together with a vinyl cement to create tarps of any size desire with waterproof seams.

Prices start at $60/vinyl.  Common sizes are 10’x30’, 12’x42’, and 14’x48’.

Contact:  Damon Carson
Company:  Recycled Billboard Tarps
Phone:  303.478.6193
Email:  damon@repurposedmaterialsinc.com
Web:  www.recycledbillboardtarps.com

Commissioner Putnam Introduces Forestry Resolutions at First Cabinet Meeting

Putnam Honors 75th Anniversary of Florida state forest system and announces Prescribed Fire Awareness Week

TALLAHASSEE — At today’s meeting of the Governor and the Cabinet, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam introduced a resolution in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Florida state forest system. Beginning this month and throughout the year, the Division of Forestry at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will hold numerous special events in state forests to commemorate this milestone in Florida’s overall public land management program.

“For 75 years, Florida’s Division of Forestry has worked diligently to protect the forests of Florida from the dangers of wildland fire and to ensure our forests will be preserved for generations to come,” Commissioner Putnam said. “The Division of Forestry also plays an important role in educating the public of the value of Florida’s state forests and the steps we must take to preserve this natural resource.

In 1936, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Forestry began managing state lands with the establishment of Pine Log State Forest near Panama City.  Today, more than 1,250 dedicated employees across the state work together to manage 35 state forests, encompassing more than one million acres.

Continue reading Commissioner Putnam Introduces Forestry Resolutions at First Cabinet Meeting

Charlotte Jacobs Sweeps Major Equitation Classes at WEF I

Charlotte Jacobs aboard Cortes 7. Photo Credit: The Book LLC

Wellington, FL and East Aurora, NY – January 18, 2011 – Charlotte Jacobs, of East Aurora, NY, was unstoppable in the equitation ring to kick off the first week of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.  Jacobs and her mount for the equitation ring, Cortes 7, won the Washington International Horse Show Equitation Class, after winning the Jumper Phase and placing fourth in the Hunter Phase.  Jacobs also won the USEF/Pessoa Medal and were awarded another blue ribbon for the excellent efforts in the prestigious ASPCA Maclay Class.

“Cortes was so amazing this week,” noted 15-year-old junior rider Charlotte Jacobs.  “It was so cold earlier in the week and I was afraid he was going to be a bit fresh.  He was absolutely perfect, and we both felt extremely prepared.  I think in the past year he has really grown up and his performance this week really showed that.  I am so proud of him and excited to continue to compete with him in the equitation for the rest of the season.”

Jacobs also competed aboard Karonda V. Schl’hof Ch and Promised Land, owned by Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables, in the High Junior Jumpers. Jacobs and Promised Land were third in the High Junior Jumper Classic after laying down a beautiful round against the field of several other horse and rider combinations.

Continue reading Charlotte Jacobs Sweeps Major Equitation Classes at WEF I

The Lane’s End Weekender Pedigree: Always a Princess

By Frank Mitchell

On Sunday, Always a Princess won the Grade 2 El Encino from newly minted Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly Blind Luck in a scorching effort over the fast track at Santa Anita. Always a Princess pressed the cracking pace of Champagne d’Oro (by Medaglia d’Oro) and held off the divisional champ’s stretch run.

Rob Whiteley of Liberation Farm said that “It was rather ironic for me to watch a beautiful daughter of Leroidesanimaux that I did not breed crush Champagne d’Oro, whom I bred, in the El Encino, preventing Champagne d’Oro from being able to relax on the lead, which she needed to do to win the race,” eventually finishing fourth.

Click here for the rest of this The Lane’s End Weekender Pedigree

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