Category Archives: JRPR

Johnny Robb

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Chester Weber’s Jamaica Featured in “Beloved Horses in Second Careers” Book to Be Released in September

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Jamaica is being featured in a new book called “Beloved Horses in Second Careers” by Sharon Miner. Jamaica was rescued from a slaughterhouse before becoming part of Weber’s award-winning team. (Photo courtesy of BlueCentaur.com)

Ocala, FL (August 30, 2010) – Jamaica, Chester Weber’s award-winning combined driving horse who was rescued from a slaughterhouse in Belgium, captured the nation’s attention when he won the most prestigious horse title in the country and became the USEF Farnam Platform Horse of the Year. Now, Jamaica’s rags to riches story is being told in the book Beloved Horses in Second Careers (Infinity Publishing) which will be released in September.

Written by Sharon Miner, the book focuses on horses who started their career in one discipline and then went on to have rewarding second careers. Jamaica’s “second career” turned out to be an amazing one, as he famously became part of Weber’s record-breaking international Four-In-Hand Combined Driving team. Jamaica, now 19, was a member of seven of Weber’s National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving National Championship teams.

Continue reading Chester Weber’s Jamaica Featured in “Beloved Horses in Second Careers” Book to Be Released in September →

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Lauren Sammis and Charles Owen Team Up at the USEF Dressage Festival of Champions to Raise Funds and Helmet Awareness

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Crystal Gaskell (left) was awarded her Charles Owen Helmet by (from left to right) Lauren Sammis, Danielle Santos, and Al Guden. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Gladstone, NJ (August 19, 2010) – Dressage rider Lauren Sammis, who earned a Gold Medal at the Pan American Games, awarded fellow dressage rider Crystal Gaskell with a brand new Charles Owen helmet during the 2010 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions. Gaskell, of Cazenovia, New York, won the helmet through a Charles Owen Helmet raffle, in support of the Riders4Helmets campaign started by SUCCEED, with all the proceeds from the raffle going to the USET Foundation.

“I always ride in a helmet and I was looking for a new helmet so this works out great,” said Gaskell, adding that she was extremely excited about winning the raffle. “I have a 23-year-old Dutch horse that I ride named Figaro. He did his first grand prix with my daughter when he was 21.”

Sammis, who competed at the Dressage Festival of Champions on Sagacious HF, an 11-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Al Guden of Hyperion Farm, was pleased to award Gaskell with her new helmet. A strong supporter of all riders wearing helmets, Sammis wore a helmet during the Dressage Festival of Champions, as did competitor Sue Blinks.

Continue reading Lauren Sammis and Charles Owen Team Up at the USEF Dressage Festival of Champions to Raise Funds and Helmet Awareness →

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Youth Wins Shetland Pony in American Shetland Pony Congress Essay Contest

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Jada Wright was the lucky winner of the ASPC's Youth Essay Contest at the Annual Shetland Pony Congress Show in Oklahoma. (Photo by Washburn Photography)

Ardmore, OK (August 19, 2010) – The annual Shetland Pony Congress Show, a competition highlighting the best small equines in the country, turned out to be a big event for one young member. Jada Wright, of Byars, Oklahoma, wrote the winning essay for the American Shetland Pony Club’s (ASPC) Youth Essay Contest, and took her own American Shetland Pony home from the show.

Jackie Tyler, of Emerald Glenn Farm in Woodville, Wisconsin, donated a two-year-old gelding named Naughty By Nature EGF to the youth essay contest and was pleased that Jada won the contest. “She was really happy about winning,” Tyler said.

Tyler, who also donated the winning pony to last year’s youth essay contest, said she decided to donate Naughty By Nature because he is a good prospect for a youth, has great brains and attitude and also has lots of color. “I enjoy giving a pony to a child who wants to really and truly work with it and show it. I think it makes children turn into better adults,” Tyler said. “A child learns to take the good with the bad when looking after a pony or horse. The pony can give you a bad time but you still have to keep going, no matter the weather or if you don’t feel good. You still have to get out there and take care of your pony.”

Continue reading Youth Wins Shetland Pony in American Shetland Pony Congress Essay Contest →

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USEF Awards Shetland Members with High Point Awards at 2010 Shetland Pony Congress Show

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USEF members were awarded USEF Shetland Member High Point Awards by Lori Nelson (far right), Assistant Executive Director of National Associates from the USEF, at the 2010 Shetland Pony Congress Show in Ardmore, OK. (Photo courtesy of Terri Washburn)

Ardmore, OK (August 17, 2010) – United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) members were given special recognition at the Shetland Pony Congress Show, where they not only topped their divisions but were also awarded USEF Shetland Member High Point Awards by the United States Equestrian Federation. Lori Nelson, Assistant Executive Director of the USEF, presented the awards to the winners at the 2010 Shetland Pony Congress Show held this month in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

The winners received special ribbons from the USEF and a gift certificate to the show vendor, Stitches and Ink. The winners included: Denise Johnson, Champion in Adult Roadster High Point Award and Kim Herron, Reserve Champion; Alicia Harris, Champion in Adult Pleasure Driving High Point Award and Cheryl Manahan, Reserve Champion; and Julie Zander, Champion in Overall Youth High Point Award and Macy Plemmons, Reserve Champion.

“The USEF Shetland Member High Point Awards for Shetland Congress were created to provide awareness about the partnership between the Shetland breed and USEF and to thank the members for their support,” said Johnny Robb, Director of Marketing for the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC). “All of the winners were really excited and we are so pleased that the USEF is committed to our breed and our members.”

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Chester Weber Awards Silent Auction Winner with a Charles Owen Helmet at Iron Horse CDE

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Combined Driver Chester Weber presents Mary Sheerin with a certificate for a new Charles Owen helmet. (Photo courtesy of Laurie Excell)

Caledonia, IL (August 13, 2010) – USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion Chester Weber is a strong proponent of wearing helmets, and during the recent Iron Horse CDE he and his team not only wore their Charles Owen helmets, but Weber stepped into the spotlight as a presenter during the silent auction. Weber presented Mary Sheerin, of Lexington, Kentucky, with a certificate for a Charles Owen helmet after Sheerin won the bid for the helmet during a silent auction to benefit Habitat for Humanity.

During the Iron Horse CDE, in which Weber won the Four-In-Hand division, Weber joined forces with two of his sponsors, Charles Owen and SUCCEED, to auction off a Charles Owen helmet certificate during the competitor’s party silent auction. Weber is encouraging all drivers to wear helmets in a Drivers4Helmets campaign, a spin on SUCCEED’s Riders4Helmets campaign.

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TailRx Featured on NBC’s Today Show during Kathie Lee and Hoda’s “Favorite Things” Segment

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Mary Brunetti, founder of TailRx, said the product works equally well on horses and humans. (Photo courtesy of Mary Brunetti)

New York, NY (August 13, 2010) – Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb added a little horse sense to NBC’s Today show recently, when Kotb announced that her newest favorite thing is the horse product TailRx. Developed by hairstylist and dressage rider Mary Brunetti, TailRx is a mane and tail restoration system for horses that can also be used on humans.

During the show’s “Favorite Things” segment, Kotb explained that she has always had hair issues but thanks to TailRx she now has a smooth and flowing mane. Kotb pulled out a bottle of the magic mane serum and demonstrated to the audience that it only takes a drop to produce a head of hair as sleek as a filly’s.

“I did Hoda’s hair out in the Hamptons over the weekend and used TailRx on it and Hoda loved it. When her show aired on Monday she was very excited about it and gave TailRx a big shout out,” Brunetti said. “Hoda knew that I developed the product for horses but that it works great on humans also, and she mentioned that on the air.”

Brunetti has since heard from staff at NBC who said Kotb is still raving about TailRx. “Hoda has talked about your product non-stop! It must be a miracle potion. Congrats, her hair looks amazing,” one staff member wrote to Brunetti.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=11749

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Make-A-Wish Foundation Helps Seven-Year-Old’s Dream to Show at AMHR Miniature Horse Nationals Come True

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Alexis shows her minis Mandy, Pretty and Pie in Canada. (Photos courtesy of Tammy Close)

Ontario, Canada (August 9, 2010) – Alexis Close may only be seven years old, but she has big dreams when it comes to her American Miniature Horses. Alexis, who was born with a heart defect and had a heart transplant when she was only 16 months old, asked the Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto for a trip to the 2010 annual American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) National Championship Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Her doctors and the transplant team keep asking her if she wanted to go to Disney World, but she doesn’t want to do that. Her dream is to go to the Nationals with her minis,” said Tammy Close, Alexis’s mom. “We have never been to the Nationals but I can see Alexis making it a yearly adventure with a trailer full of minis.”

Continue reading Make-A-Wish Foundation Helps Seven-Year-Old’s Dream to Show at AMHR Miniature Horse Nationals Come True →

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Marco Bernal Wins Team & Individual Gold Medals at Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico

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Colombian dressage rider Marco Bernal and Farewell IV took double gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico. (Photos courtesy of Marco Bernal International Dressage)

Heavy Medal for Bernal in Puerto Rico

West Palm Beach, FL (August 5, 2010) – The Central American and Caribbean Games may have been Farewell IV’s first time competing at a show outside of the country, but it turned out to be an award-winning gold adventure for the Westphalian stallion and his owner, trainer and rider Colombian dressage rider Marco Bernal. Farewell IV and Bernal helped their team capture the Gold Medal in Puerto Rico and two days later the duo won the Individual Gold Medal. A special gold medal was also awarded to Bernal for the top rider-horse combination in the Prix St George and Intermediaire I.

Bernal, who has returned from the Games to Wellington and his Marco Bernal International Dressage farm, remains on cloud nine following the double gold victory. “It was a beautiful feeling to have Farewell compete under difficult conditions and remain so obedient and positive,” Bernal said. “During the team competition there was a tremendous rain storm and I had already warmed Farewell up and was about to enter the ring when they stopped the show. We had to wait about a half an hour before we could compete, but Farewell was with me every step of the way and it really was an excellent trip.”

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Chester Weber Captures Four-In-Hand Championship at Iron Horse CDE

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Chester Weber, the reigning USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion, won the Four-In-Hand Championship at the Iron Horse Combined Driving Event at Sherwood Farms. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Thompson, DVM)

Caledonia, IL (August 5, 2010) – Combined Driver Chester Weber is gearing up for the World Equestrian Games the best way he knows how: by competing in and winning the Four-In-Hand at the Iron Horse Combined Driving Event at Sherwood Farms, in Caledonia, Illinois. Despite an issue in the marathon phase, Team Weber captured the overall championship with 152.2 points followed by Josh Rector with 170.58 points.

Weber said his team’s success at Iron Horse did include some bad luck, which occurred on the marathon. “We strive for our personal best and this was an example of being dealt lemons and making lemonade,” Weber said. “In the first obstacle in the marathon, Para my left wheel horse, somehow got his left front leg over Reno’s trace. Reno is the left leader, in front of Para. Olof, one of the two navigators on the carriage, got down and quickly resolved the problem in 25 seconds. The horses were unharmed and we proceeded to win the next three hazards.”

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Caroline Roffman and Bon Chance Go Five for Five

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Caroline Roffman and her Hanoverian gelding, Bon Chance, won the Five-Year-Old Championship at the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championships in Lamplight, Illinois. (Photo courtesy of Fire and Earth Photo)

Wellington, FL (August 2, 2010) – Five may be dressage rider Caroline Roffman’s favorite number right now, as the talented 21-year-old rode her Hanoverian gelding Bon Chance (Belissimo M x Wintersong by Weltmeyer bred in Germany by Marefield Meadows) to the Five-Year-Old Championship at the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championship in Lamplight. It was the first national championship for Roffman, who lives in Wellington, Florida, and trained Bon Chance herself.

The Five-Year-Old victory was the fifth win at a major show for Bon Chance, giving the duo a five for five record. Bon Chance also won the Five-Year-Old Preliminary Class at the Young Horse Championships, captured first at the 2010 Dressage at Equestrian Estates as well as the 2010 Dressage Derby and was Reserve Champion at the 2009 Young Horse Championships in the Four-Year-Old class.

Continue reading Caroline Roffman and Bon Chance Go Five for Five →