Category Archives: Events

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Fundraisers, Jennifer Ward, Show Jumping

JustWorld International Forms Partnership with Equine Canada

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December 24, 2010 – Wellington, Florida – JustWorld International has formed a partnership with Equine Canada, the national federation for equestrian sport in Canada.  JustWorld is a not-for-profit, humanitarian organization working as a catalyst for positive change in the developing world by helping impoverished children.

By forming an alliance with Equine Canada, JustWorld will have official endorsement from the national governing body.  Currently, JustWorld has a strong Canadian presence with 35 of the more than 370 JustWorld Rider Ambassadors hailing from Canada while several top show jumping competitions host fundraising activities.  The main focus of JustWorld’s activities is raising funds and awareness for its project sites in Brazil, Cambodia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Senegal.

“Equine Canada and the Canadian Equestrian Team are honoured to join hands with JustWorld International and become part of their work,” said Akaash Maharaj, Chief Executive Officer of Equine Canada.  “We hope that our partnership will make a meaningful contribution to improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children, and to upholding equestrianism’s higher traditions as a sport of conscience.”

Continue reading JustWorld International Forms Partnership with Equine Canada →

Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, FEI, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping

2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival Offers over $6 Million in Total Prize Money and Adds Eight FEI ROLEX Ranking Point Classes

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Wellington, FL – December 22, 2010 – The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) will run for 12 weeks from January 12 to April 3, and this year’s competition will offer more opportunities for show jumpers to accumulate FEI ROLEX ranking points than ever before. For riders to start their year off strongly, the only place to gain this amount of points in North America is at the FTI WEF. The FTI WEF will award more than $6 million in prize money throughout the circuit, and $3.2 million of that will be given in the open jumper classes. For the FEI level jumpers, they will compete for $2.7 million in prize money.

“Adding more FEI ROLEX ranking classes is part of our dedication to providing the best equestrian sport,” said Michael Stone, President of Equestrian Sport Productions. “The riders that compete at the FTI WEF will more chances to gain points this year at our events during the winter season than anywhere else in the continent.”

Thanks to the support of G&C Farm, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal, the FTI WEF was able to add eight new FEI ROLEX ranking classes to the schedule. There are now 27 ranking classes during the FTI WEF, and these eight new FEI ROLEX ranking classes increased over 20% from last year. “Now there will be over 10,000 points available,” Stone said.

Continue reading 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival Offers over $6 Million in Total Prize Money and Adds Eight FEI ROLEX Ranking Point Classes →

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

American Shetland Pony Nominated for USEF Horse of the Year

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Michelle LaGrotte-Barcus and her Modern American Shetland Pony Heza JackRabbit, who has won two National Championships in Modern Roadster. Rabbit is the first Shetland Pony to be nominated for the Horse of the Year title. (Photo courtesy of Howie Schatzberg)

Rockville, MO (December 22, 2010) – Heza JackRabbit, a Modern American Shetland Pony, may only be 46” tall but he just became larger than life as one of five horses from the entire country in the running for the USEF Horse of the Year title. Rabbit, who is registered with the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), is a six-year-old black stallion and Reserve National Grand Champion Roadster Pony.

“I am very excited for Rabbit and for the American Shetland Pony Club,” said Michelle LeGrotte-Barcus, the proud owner of Rabbit. “I am honored that he is the first Shetland Pony to be up for the Horse of the Year title. I told Rabbit about it and he was excited too, but he thinks his nomination means he gets extra Nicker Makers which are his favorite treat.”

LeGrotte-Barcus, who owns Dreamland Shetlands in Rockville, Missouri, said that as a child she watched the movie “The Black Stallion” and dreamed that someday she would have a black stallion of her own. “I just never thought he would only be 46” tall,” LeGrotte-Barcus said, adding that she fell in love with Rabbit the first time she drove him and decided to buy him before getting out of the cart. “The first time I saw Rabbit, in March of 2007, I fell in love. He was quite a handful and I thought he might not be ready for an amateur but I bought him anyway because I knew he was going to be a special pony one day.”

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Breeds, Contributors/Press, Events, Wild Horse Sources

Here’s a Sneak Peek at Our Saving America’s Mustangs’ 2011 Rose Parade Float

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Dear Friends & Supporters,
In just 10 short days, our Saving America’s Mustangs’ 2011 Rose Parade float will officially be revealed to over 54 million viewers! We were in Pasadena, CA last week getting a sneak peek at our float that is nearly completed and WOW!

Just wait until you see it! You will not believe how AMAZING it looks!

This is such great exposure for the Wild Ones! To give you a small taste of what it looks like, we want to present to you the never before seen rendering by our float builder (above left). However, after seeing the float in person and seeing the sculpted wild horses, which are LARGER THAN LIFE, we can hardly wait to unveil it to you and millions of others worldwide on New Year’s Day! 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!

Continue reading Here’s a Sneak Peek at Our Saving America’s Mustangs’ 2011 Rose Parade Float →

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Events, JRPR

Vets Enjoy Arenus Dinner Cruise at American Assoc. of Equine Practitioners Convention

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Dr. Ken Kopp, left, the Technical Service Veterinarian for Arenus, speaks with Dr. Anthony Blikslager, the guest speaker, at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention and Trade Show in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo courtesy of Arenus)

St. Louis, MO (December 20, 2010) – Veterinarians attending the American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention & Trade Show in Baltimore, Maryland, had the chance to enjoy the panoramic views of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor thanks to a dinner cruise sponsored by Arenus. During the cruise, the veterinarians not only enjoyed dinner but also took part in an educational evening that proved to be a highlight of the convention.

“The event was thoroughly enjoyable and the Arenus staff received many compliments on the cruise, both that night and by vets stopping by the tradeshow booth the next day,” said Trish Richter, Arenus Marketing Manager. “Arenus is a premier provider of innovative health and nutrition products for pets and horses, and our parent company is Novus International, Inc. President and CEO of Novus, Thad Simons, gave an overview of Novus before Dr. Blikslager, the main speaker of the evening gave his engaging presentation.”

Arenus also gave the veterinarians a presentation on a recent, wide-scale Assure clinical study. Assure is an innovative digestive supplement that, when fed daily, helps to support overall hindgut health through Assure’s exclusive GST technology. The Assure family of products each contain probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes & psyllium to help control the risk of digestive colic.  Assure Plus is a sand clearance supplement uniquely formulated to support hindgut motility and nutrient absorption when used as directed.

Continue reading Vets Enjoy Arenus Dinner Cruise at American Assoc. of Equine Practitioners Convention →

*Featured/Spotlights, Associations/Breeds, Breeds, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Driving, Events, JRPR

Four American Miniature Horses Fill In for Santa’s Reindeer during Holiday HorseFest

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Linda Kern drove the chestnut Miniature Horses four-in-hand team, I’m Little SoWhat, Master of the Chase, All Fyred Up, and Rhapsody in Red, with help from her son-in-law Doug Johnson. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Ho, Ho, Ho – Miniature Horses Escort Santa Claus!

West Palm Beach, FL (December 20, 2010) – Four perfectly matched tiny American Miniature Horses recently filled in for Santa’s reindeer, much to the delight of the crowd, at the Fidelity Investments Holiday HorseFest at the Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach’s downtown waterfront. With more than 4,000 spectators in attendance, the holiday festival showcased a fun and festive afternoon of show jumping, musical performances, pony rides, holiday fun, prize giveaways, a competition for the 2011 $1 Million Great Charity Challenge and, of course, the arrival of Santa Claus.

Owner Linda Kern, of Caribbean Dreams Miniatures in Loxahatchee, Florida, drove the chestnut Miniature Horses four-in-hand team with help from her son-in-law Doug Johnson. “The four American Miniature Horses that pulled Santa’s sleigh, or carriage if you will, are a good example of the versatility you can find in the miniature world,” said Johnny Robb, Marketing Director for the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR). “It was fantastic for the crowd to see miniatures who have won National Championships and Reserve Championships as single driving horses, pairs, tandem, unicorn, and the four-in-hand.”

Continue reading Four American Miniature Horses Fill In for Santa’s Reindeer during Holiday HorseFest →

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

Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2010/2011

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Germany’s Ulla Salzgeber and Herzruf's Erbe won the fifth leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series in Frankfurt, Germany today. Photo: Stefan Lafrentz/FEI.

SALZGEBER REIGNS SUPREME AS GERMANY DOMINATES by Claartje van Andel

Frankfurt (GER), 19 December 2010 – Germany’s Ulla Salzgeber and her reliable chestnut Herzruf’s Erbe won the fifth leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series in the festive surroundings of the Frankfurter Festhalle in Frankfurt today. The victory was the more remarkable as Salzgeber had not been able to practice her Freestyle in a full size arena of 20 by 60 meters before the competition. The German dressage star is in the middle of moving her training facility closer to her yard in order to have more fields surrounding her stable and training centre, so she was delighted with today’s result.  German riders filled the top three places and five of the top six slots on their home turf today, Denmark’s Princess Nathalie Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein preventing them from achieving a total white-wash when slotting into fourth.

“All the German team colleagues of the WEG were competing here, so I am too proud of this win!” said Salzgeber after a very well-concentrated test in which the trot-work was a particular highlight. Her “Boney M” musical score has been used before with her former dressage super-star, the great Rusty with whom Salzgeber was crowned champion at both the FEI World Cup Dressage finals in Aarhus and ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2001 and 2002.  The German rider feels it is also very fitting to Herzruf’s Erbe.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12761

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

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2010/2011 – Round 7, Olympia

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Great Britain's Michael Whitaker produced a sensational round against the clock with GIG Amai to win the seventh leg of the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping series at Olympia in London today. Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI.

EMOTIONAL MICHAEL WHITAKER WINS COVETED OLYMPIA CROWN by Louise Parkes

London GBR, 19 December 2010 – Emotion ran high as Great Britain’s Michael Whitaker celebrated his spectacular victory in today’s seventh leg of the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping series at Olympia in London.  The 50 year old Yorkshire-born rider was almost speechless with delight after seeing off a class field that included second-placed Irishman Billy Twomey and World No. 1 Kevin Staut from France who had to settle for third.  Whitaker choked back the tears in a post-competition TV interview – “The draw had a lot to do with it,” he said modestly, but this did little justice to the skill with which he steered his 10 year old gelding home to an explosion of applause from the ecstatic home crowd.

“The best man won here today,” declared Twomey, whose former mentor, Whitaker, has watched the Irishman steadily climb up the rankings this season.  “They say form is temporary, but class is permanent!” Twomey added, paying the ultimate compliment to the man who started him on his road to success.

UNDER-ESTIMATED
Course designer Guilherme Jorge from Brazil admitted that he had under-estimated the quality of today’s 37-strong field.  “I don’t build very often here in Europe and I know the level of the competition is very high – I should have built bigger.  The jumping here has been really amazing,” he said.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12760

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Equestrian Assistance, EQUUS Foundation, Events, Fundraisers, Phelps Media Group

Tiffany & Co. of Palm Beach Gardens to Host Equestrian Idol to Benefit The EQUUS Foundation

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Hillary Dobbs and Lou Dobbs at the 2010 Equestrian Idol event in Wellington, Florida.

WESTPORT, CT – December 19, 2010 – The EQUUS Foundation is pleased to welcome Tiffany & Co. Palm Beach Gardens as the Title Sponsor for its upcoming Equestrian Idol “All Stars” Musical Cabaret on Friday, February 4, 2011, in Wellington, Florida.

Founded in 1837 in New York City by Charles Lewis Tiffany, Tiffany & Co. has a rich heritage filled with celebrated events, artists and milestones that live on today in legendary style. Tiffany’s contributions have beautifully graced major events of the past two centuries.

“We participated in the 2010 event and are thrilled to become even more involved in 2011,” said Rebecca Brewer, Director of Tiffany & Co. Palm Beach Gardens. “The event is unique, fun, and raises funds to educate the public on the important role horses play in our everyday lives, not just in the competitive arena.”

Continue reading Tiffany & Co. of Palm Beach Gardens to Host Equestrian Idol to Benefit The EQUUS Foundation →

Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, FEI, HITS, Show Jumping, USEF

HITS Desert Circuit to Host Three Qualifying Events for EY-Cup’s New Super Final

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©Flying Horse Photography. Lucy Davis and True Love on course in the $25,000 California Horsetrader Junior/ Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic High at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit.

THERMAL, CA (December 17, 2010) — HITS, Inc. is pleased to announce that the 2011 Desert Circuit in Thermal, California will host three qualifying events for the 2011 European Youngster Cup Jumper Series’ new Super Final, which will be held in Leipzig, Germany during the FEI World Cup Finals this coming April.

The European Youngster Cup, also known as the EY-Cup, is a series for ambitious, top young riders born after January 1, 1985 that culminates in a Finals held each December in Germany. This is the first time that riders will have the opportunity to compete at a Super Final during FEI World Cup Finals and the first time that the United States will host qualifiers for the event.

The United States Equestrian Federation has just finalized the qualifying specifications for this highly-popular international show jumping event and has selected HITS Thermal to produce one of the four qualified North American riders that will be eligible to compete at the EY-Cup Super Final.

Continue reading HITS Desert Circuit to Host Three Qualifying Events for EY-Cup’s New Super Final →