All posts by Associate Editor

*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Events, Wild Horse Sources

Don’t Forget to Watch the Saving America’s Mustangs 2011 Rose Parade Float Tomorrow!

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Dear Friends & Supporters,
Tomorrow (January 1st), our Saving America’s Mustangs 2011 Rose Parade float will be showcased to over 54 million viewers worldwide! We were at judging early this morning and we will find out if we won any of the 20 out of 23 awards that we are eligible for.

Below is a small sample of how amazing our float looks! (Just wait until you see all of the participants on it!)

I also want to thank all the volunteers (Petal Pushers) who spent tireless hours meticulously decorating our float. It looks so amazing! Phoenix Decorating and all the volunteers did an exceptional job! Thank you all so much!

This is such great exposure for the Wild Ones! Please make a point to tune into the Rose Parade on January 1st and give our mustangs the attention they deserve! This is also a great opportunity to see real, GREAT AMERICAN MUSTANGS live! Six of our very own mustangs will be walking proudly in the 5.5 mile parade, celebrating the Rose Bowl and our American heritage! One million parade goers will be lining the streets to get a glimpse at these beautiful, floral floats. We would love to have you cheer us on and wave to you as we pass by.

Also accompanying our float and equestrian unit we will be honoring many great Americans including: wounded veterans, including several from Patriot Paws, as well as our 4 legged heroes from the Military War Dogs Association, and several Native American tribes, not to mention some of our respected Saving America’s Mustangs Advisory Board Members and a HUGE fireworks display!

Continue reading Don’t Forget to Watch the Saving America’s Mustangs 2011 Rose Parade Float Tomorrow! →

Awards, Community/Charity, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Events, JRPR, Products/Services

Draper Equine Therapy to Sponsor “Put Your Best Foot Forward” Award at 2011 FTI WEF

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Draper Equine Therapy will be sponsoring the “Put Your Best Foot Forward” Award at the 2011 WEF. Each winner will receive a pair of Draper Equine Therapy Recovery Wraps, an Anti-Sweat Sheet and Saddle Pad for their horse, along with a pair of Draper Body Therapy Socks and a t-shirt for themselves. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Wellington, FL (December 30, 2010) – Riders who put their best foot forward each week during the world class 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival will have the chance to ride away with the “Put Your Best Foot Forward” Award. Sponsored by Draper Equine Therapy, makers of therapeutic horse and rider products featuring the innovative “smart fiber” textile Celliant, each winner will receive a pair of Draper Equine Therapy Recovery Wraps, an Anti-Sweat Sheet and Saddle Pad for their horse, along with a pair of Draper Body Therapy Socks and a t-shirt for themselves.

“Draper is thrilled to be sponsoring the ‘Put Your Best Foot Forward’ Award at WEF. This is a wonderful opportunity to reward talent that might not be winning ribbons each week at WEF, regardless of all the determination and hard work they are putting forward,” said Kat Wojtylak, Product Manager of Draper Equine Therapy. “We want to recognize those horses and riders who are really giving it their all, because everyone deserves a shot at being the best.”

The 2011 Winter Equestrian Festival, held January 12 to April 3 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, is a world-class show circuit that attracts top horses, riders and trainers from all around the world. “The winners of the ‘Put Your Best Foot Forward’ Award are going to have the opportunity to really try the products out by feeling and watching the results,” Wojtylak said. “We have riders with feet problems that put on our socks and call us the next day to tell us their pain is gone. We have one rider who says he will never take off our socks because he is pain free for the first time in five years.”

Continue reading Draper Equine Therapy to Sponsor “Put Your Best Foot Forward” Award at 2011 FTI WEF →

Breeds, Contributors/Press, Events, Racing

“Hats Off to the Horses,” the Online Derby-Hat Auction Benefiting Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, Continues January 1st

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Stunning New Hat Honors Retiree Creator

GEORGETOWN, KY – DECEMBER 30, 2010 – Bidding opens January 1st on “The Creator,” hat number three in the six-part “Hats Off to the Horses: The Road to the Derby,” an online fashion auction benefitting Old Friends, the central Kentucky organization devoted to racehorse retirement.

Handcrafted by milliner Sally Faith Steinmann of Maggie Mae Designs, the hat will be on the block from January 1st through January 11 2011.

Steinmann, who owns the Massachusetts-based Maggie Mae Designs, is donating the six magnificent millinery creations to raise funds for Old Friends, the 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that cares for more than 100 retired Thoroughbreds.  Each hat is inspired by one of the retirees at Old Friends and will be auctioned monthly from November to April, leading up to the famed First Saturday in May. One hundred percent of the online proceeds goes to Old Friends.

To celebrate the New Year, Steinmann has created a magnificent chapeau in honor of Old Friends’ 25-year-old retiree Creator, one the first horses acquired by the organization from the breeding sheds of Japan.

Continue reading “Hats Off to the Horses,” the Online Derby-Hat Auction Benefiting Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, Continues January 1st →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Driving, Events, FEI, FEI

Hat Trick for Koos de Ronde in Mechelen

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Koos de Ronde on his way to his hat trick victory in Mechelen. Photo: FEI/Rinaldo de Craen

Koos de Ronde did it again. The Dutch golden team member of Kentucky has won the FEI World Cup Driving competition in Mechelen for the third time in a row. De Ronde beat Hungary’s Jozsef Dobrovitz with an exciting fast and clear round to put the pressure on last-to-go and wild card driver Boyd Exell. But the World Champion from Australia was unable to stay clear and left the arena with 15 penalty points. When the scores were finally tallied, De Ronde was declared the deserved winner.

Charley is back
After wins in 2008 and 2009 in the Nekkerhal just 140 kilometres from his home in The Netherlands, Koos de Ronde was determined to be the best again in Mechelen. Koos was very pleased to be able to use his black horse Charley in the lead of his team again after having to replace him at Budapest due to injury. De Ronde put his team in the highest gear from the start and was the only driver with two clear rounds.

Too generous
Boyd Exell, who had received one of the three wild cards from the organisers, was last to go in the Winning Round after a very fast first round. Koos had asked him to be generous before he went into the fully packed arena, but Boyd explained afterwards that he had not planned to be that generous! Boyd, who had swapped his leaders around, went too fast in tight places and knocked three balls down.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12857

Contributors/Press, Rescue/Protection Sources

Horse Summit Comes under Friendly Fire

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Brogan Horton (left) meeting with President Bush in 2006.

December 30, 2010 – We have all shot ourselves in the foot, but seldom does an entire organization take up automatic weapons and form itself into a firing squad for that purpose. Such is the case with the organizers and sponsors of the upcoming Summit of the Horse to be held the first week of January in Las Vegas.

In fact, one has to use the term “sponsors” carefully because quite a few of those listed as sponsors on the event’s web page were not even aware of their lofty status until struck by painful ricochets from the summit firing squad.

The list of “sponsors” has dwindled as these organizations have become aware of their listing and requested their names be removed. Even the renowned slaughter plant designer, Temple Grandin, has informed Equine Welfare Alliance that she has instructed Ms. Wallis to stop using her name.

In an interview with Horseback Magazine, Dr. Grandin said, “They kind of were misrepresenting my involvement.” When I read this, I thought, “Welcome to Wallis World.”

Continue reading Horse Summit Comes under Friendly Fire →

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

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2010/2011 – Round 8

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Mireille Puttevils, Rolex Belgium, presents Jessica Kuerten with a Rolex watch after the Irish rider's victory with Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois in today's leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping series. Photo: Dirk Caremans/FEI.

KUERTEN KEEPS THE BELGIANS AT BAY ON THEIR HOME TURF AT MECHELEN by Louise Parkes

Mechelen BEL, 30 December 2010 – Ireland’s Jessica Kuerten fended off a powerful challenge from the host nation contingent to scoop maximum points in the eighth leg of the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping series at Mechelen in Belgium this afternoon.  From a starting field of 38 only four went into the second-round jump-off, and the 41 year old German-based rider snatched victory when second-last to go against the clock riding Lady Georgina Forbes’ Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois.

“It was a very special win, and I feel quite emotional,” Kuerten said afterwards.  “We really wanted to win, we were unbelievably motivated and we had to go very fast to beat Gregory Wathalet.  Winning this and the Queen’s Cup on Tuesday has made it a fairytale week!” she added.  Belgium’s Wathalet took runner-up spot with Sea Coast Cortes C while his fellow-countrymen Jos Lansink (Casper Van Spieveld) and Niels Bruynseels (NASA) filled third and fourth places respectively as the home riders put on a great show in front of their own crowd in the packed Nekkerhal Arena.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12853

*Featured/Spotlights, Breeds, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, JRPR, USDF

Lusitanos Shine in the Spotlight at the USDF Annual Convention and Symposium

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Photos © 2010 Teri Rehkopf, HorsesintheSouth.com & DressageontheFirstCoast.com

Jacksonville, FL (December 30, 2010) – The Lusitano breed was in the spotlight at the recent United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Annual Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, when an award-winning Lusitano took part in the symposium and two lucky audience members won tickets to the upcoming 2011 Lusitano Collection International Horse Auction. The auction, which will be held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida, on February 23-26, 2011, will feature Lusitano horses from the world’s top Lusitano breeders.

Dressage rider Leah Winston showed the six-year-old Lusitano stallion Amintas Interagro, owned by Al and Sherie Zobec of Z Stallions in Palm City, Florida, in the USDF symposium. Winston has found success with Amintas in the FEI Six-Year-Old division and believes the stallion has Grand Prix potential.

“Amintas is my pride and joy,” Winston said, adding that she co-owns him with the Zobecs. “Although the level we were demonstrating was below the level he is currently competing, it was great exposure for us and the Lusitano breed. The judges for the symposium, Gary Rockwell and Lilo Fiore, treated us very fairly and helped me with some of the issues that actually carry through to the level I ride Amintas in now. Gary even commented that he is a very nice young horse and has a great work ethic, very serious and will be fun to train up through the levels. He also commented on the relationship that he feels we have developed.”

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12851

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, JRPR

Bestselling Author Tami Hoag Rings in the New Year with a New Book and a New Horse

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New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag is headed to the show ring with her new horse Lonestar, an 11-year-old Hanoverian. (Photo courtesy of Sue Stickle)

Wellington, FL (December 30, 2010) – New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag has mastered the literary world with her spine-tingling murder mysteries, and now Hoag is planning on mastering the show ring with her new 11-year-old Hanoverian named Lonestar. In addition to riding and competing during the winter dressage shows in Florida, Hoag is also embarking on a book tour for her newest novel, Secrets to the Grave, released December 28, 2010.

“I bought Lonestar in June of 2010 and we are still getting to know each other,” Hoag said. “So far we’ve done a schooling show and one small sanctioned show. He got a first and a second in the Intermediaire II, and I have yet to really ask him to do anything. I’ve been riding him conservatively, but still he’s been racking up a lot of 8s in his tests.”

Hoag recently rode Lonestar in a clinic with World Equestrian Games star Steffen Peters. “The clinic was an excellent experience and I really enjoyed riding with Steffen,” Hoag said. “He’s so meticulous and quiet in his work with his own horses. I try to emulate that work ethic every day. He was very excited about Lonestar, who just got bigger and better as the lesson went on.”

Continue reading Bestselling Author Tami Hoag Rings in the New Year with a New Book and a New Horse →

Contributors/Press, JRPR, Products/Services

Color Your New Year with World Equestrian Brands Colorful E. A. Mattes Couture Collection Saddle Pads

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Riders can now custom make their own E. A. Mattes Sheepskin Saddle Pads and Ear Bonnets through World Equestrian Brands LLC. (Photo courtesy of Julia Wentscher)

Buena Vista, VA (December 30, 2010) – Riders everywhere can now color their New Year almost any color they dream of thanks to World Equestrian Brands E. A. Mattes Couture Collection Saddle Pads and E. A. Mattes Couture Fly Bonnets. World Equestrian Brands LLC, located in Buena Vista, Virginia, is a distributor of Amerigo saddles and strap goods, Amerigo Vega saddles, Vespucci, E. A. Mattes and Equilibrium products.

“Mattes has deservedly earned the reputation as the industry leader with the technical capabilities offered by the pads — Spine Free design, anatomically correct topline, dense, resilient sheepskin, and durability that only comes with quality materials. The Correction Pads are also one of a kind — great for incremental improvements due to the nature of the shims we use. People try to copy the pads for a reason, but there is only one Mattes,” said Robin Moore, of World Equestrian Brands.

Riders wishing to build their own saddle pads have the choice of 27 quilts, 29 sheepskins, 32 pipings and 33 binding colors to select from. “The combinations that we have seen people come up with are fantastic,” Moore said. “You can have up to three pipings on a pad. We do not recommend the piping option on the half pads, however, as this may lead to a pressure point. The custom color combinations are available in any style Mattes pad and when designing pads you can match the sheepskin colors on the pads with the Mattes sheepskin girths and boots.”

Continue reading Color Your New Year with World Equestrian Brands Colorful E. A. Mattes Couture Collection Saddle Pads →

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

Motivation from Moshi 45, by Jane Savoie

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A good friend left the barn today. I was sad to know that he wasn’t coming back. His person took a new job in another city so he had to go to a new place. I will miss his funny nicker and his terrific sense of humor.

Letting go of friends, jobs, or situations can be hard. It can hurt. But letting go is a natural part of life. Change is inevitable, so it is wise to put some perspective on the feelings and understand how to move beyond the discomfort.

Everything changes. Everything! Resistance to change can be one of the most challenging natural traits to overcome. And yet, all you have to do is relax, let go of your need for things to be a certain way, and trust that there is more going on than meets the eye. There is a plan, an order to the Universe, that we can’t possibly know. It’s that leap of faith in trusting that all is well, even when it is uncomfortable and unknown, that’s the key to letting go of our discomfort with change.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 45, by Jane Savoie →