Category Archives: *Featured/Spotlights

Special features, spotlights, headlines

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, USEF, Western/Reining

Flarida Is NRHA’s First Four Million Dollar Rider

Leave a comment
Shawn Flarida riding Wimpys Little Chic in the $100,000 added NRHA World Championship Shootout. NRHA/Waltenberry

Oklahoma City, OK – December 16, 2010 – Just two short years ago, Shawn Flarida became the National Reining Horse Association’s first Three Million Dollar Rider with earnings accumulated at the 2008 NRHA Futurity. History repeated itself when the gates closed on the 2010 NRHA Futurity and the results were announced. With rides in the finals aboard Quistador (owned by Augustine and Gaynia Revenberg) and Shine Chic Shine (owned by Amabile & Strusiner), plus a tie for third in the $100,000 added NRHA World Championship Shootout on Wimpys Little Chic (owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA), Flarida scooped up more than $100,000 to become NRHA’s first Four Million Dollar Rider. Flarida’s official NRHA earnings are $4,023,885.

Flarida, of Springfield, OH, became the second rider in history to break the $2 million mark in 2006 at the FEI World Reining Masters in Denver, CO. Bill Horn was the first rider to earn in excess of $1 million. Tim McQuay, Craig Schmersal and Andrea Fappani are the only other riders to cross the $2 million earnings level. Only thirteen other riders have crossed the $1 million earnings plateau in addition to Flarida.

Continue reading Flarida Is NRHA’s First Four Million Dollar Rider →

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Equestrian Assistance, Events, Symposiums, USEF

Riders4helmets to Host Helmet Safety Symposium Presented by SUCCEED

1 Comment

Aurora, OH – Riders4Helmets, the helmet awareness campaign founded by Jeri Bryant and equine health product SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program, will be hosting a “by invitation only” Helmet Safety Symposium. The event will take place January 8, 2011, at the White Horse Tavern, Wellington, FL, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The symposium is sponsored by Troxel Helmets, Charles Owen Helmets, Tipperary Helmets and Samshield Helmets.

The Helmet Safety Symposium has been organized to bring together representatives from various corners of the equestrian world to discuss the importance of wearing helmets, rider safety and to improve helmet designs, rules and more. The event will provide a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Many in attendance will also sit on the panels, including leading equestrians, representatives from the helmet safety testing authorities, helmet manufacturers, equestrian organizations including USEF and the FEI, and neurosurgeons. The chair of the meeting will be Dr. Craig Ferrell, physician to the United States Equestrian Team.

“We are very excited to be part of the Riders4Helmets campaign and to see it continue to expand,” said Lyndsey White, representative from Freedom Health, LLC, makers of SUCCEED and co-manager of the Riders4Helmets campaign. “Since Courtney King Dye’s tragic accident earlier this year, awareness of the importance of helmet safety has grown to the point where we can now bring together different individuals, corporations and organizations all in one place to discuss the issues and, hopefully, being to change things for the better.”

Continue reading Riders4helmets to Host Helmet Safety Symposium Presented by SUCCEED →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Driving, Events, Fundraisers, Phelps Media Group

“Salute to Driving” Benefit to Support the USET Foundation

1 Comment
Lisa Singer has helped organize the Salute to Driving after representing the United States at multiple World Championship events. Photo By: Paige DD Singer.

Aiken, SC – December 17, 2010 – The Salute to Driving fundraising event that is being held in Aiken, and Windsor SC, February 19-21, 2011 will benefit this country’s High Performance Driving programs. The exciting weekend event will feature a beautiful dinner and auction on Saturday evening, multiple driving clinics with some of the world’s top trainers throughout the weekend, and a Combined Test Competition for all on Monday. In addition to supporting the USET Foundation, the Salute to Driving event is being held to help raise awareness and educate different audiences about the discipline of driving.

The fundraising dinner and auction for the Salute to Driving will be held on Saturday, February 19, at Wendy O’Brien’s Trout Walk Farm in Aiken. The affair will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with a beautifully catered dinner and full bar. Guests will have the opportunity to bid on fabulous items during the live auction.  Some highlighted items include Brunch at the Green Boundary Club, two lessons with top driver Michael Freund at Sunshine State, Little Everglades or Live Oak, a dinner for eight presented by Jack Wetzel at his new log cabin, a week long vacation in a large Victorian Home on the beach in Cape May, NJ, and a Print “Patriots Barn” by Jamie Wyeth, signed and remarked by the artist. Throughout the night there will also be over 20 raffle items available including a photo shoot and dancing lessons.

Continue reading “Salute to Driving” Benefit to Support the USET Foundation →

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Driving, Endurance Riding, Equestrian Assistance, EQUUS Foundation, Eventing/H.T., Events, Para-Equestrian, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping, USEF, Vaulting, Western/Reining

The EQUUS Foundation and the USEF Launch America’s Favorite Equestrian

Leave a comment

WESTPORT, CT – December 17, 2010 – America’s Favorite Equestrian is an interactive fundraising effort presented jointly in partnership by The EQUUS Foundation and The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) to raise funds to advance the equestrian sport on an annual basis.

Using mobile texting, you can vote to select America’s Favorite Equestrians and support The EQUUS Foundation with a $5 gift. 100% of all donations will be used to support charitable causes. A minimum of $10,000 in “sport welfare” grants will be awarded, with an additional $5,000 grant awarded to the equestrian discipline generating the most votes.

The objective is for the America’s Favorite Equestrians to be an ongoing program with all equestrian disciplines/breeds represented and the winners recognized in a permanent “Hall of Fame”. The original intent was to launch the inaugural program in conjunction with the World Equestrian Games, which is why initially the eight disciplines of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, para-dressage, reining, and vaulting were selected. The affiliates of the United States Equestrian Federation representing these disciplines selected the equestrians.  But, there were some logistics involved in establishing the mobile texting system and developing the website, which delayed the launch until December.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12751

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

FEI Championships 2010 – World Jumping Challenge Final

Leave a comment
Santiago Diaz Ortega from Colombia claimed gold at the 2010 FEI World Jumping Challenge Final in Guatemala last weekend.

COLOMBIA’S ORTEGA CLINCHES VICTORY IN GUATEMALA

Guatemala City (GUA), 17 December – Colombia’s Santiago Diaz Ortega claimed gold at the 2010 FEI World Jumping Challenge Final staged in Guatemala City, Guatemala last weekend.  Kenya’s Karen Mousley took silver while the host nation’s Wylder Rodriguez took bronze.

A total of 17 riders from 11 countries – Venezuela, Kenya, Colombia, Guatemala, Bermuda, Ecuador, Chile, Republic of South Africa, Algeria, Malaysia and Indonesia – were selected to compete in this event which is open to 20 Category “A” riders from 10 regional zones.

Competitors ride borrowed horses in this Challenge which was created in 2001, and there is a “change-horse” format in the Final Four competition which decides the medals on the last day.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12750

*Featured/Spotlights, Breeds, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Driving, Events, JRPR

Lusitanos Light Up the Season at West Palm Beach’s Waterfront Holiday HorseFest

1 Comment
Cherri Reiber and the Lusitanos Zerbino Interagro and Visitor Interagro presented a tandem driving exhibition at the Fidelity Investments Holiday HorseFest. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

West Palm Beach, FL (December 17, 2010) – Two magnificent Lusitanos, driven in tandem by Cherri Reiber, kicked off the holiday season in style at Fidelity Investments Holiday HorseFest at the Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach’s downtown waterfront.  With more than four thousand spectators in attendance, the Lusitanos’ thrilling demonstration lit up the holiday show, which was presented as a fun and festive afternoon of show jumping, musical performances, pony rides, holiday fun, prize giveaways and a competition for the 2011 $1 Million Great Charity Challenge.

“The crowd really enjoyed the tandem driving exhibition and the two Lusitanos, Vistor Interagro and Zerbino Interagro, piloted by Reiber put on a fabulous performance,” said Peter Van Borst, the United States representative for Interagro Lusitanos, the largest breeder and exporter of Lusitano horses in the world. “Tandem driving is considered by driving aficionados to be one of the most difficult forms of the driving discipline due to the fact of minimal control over the lead horse. These two horses have only been working together for a few weeks, and despite the imposing venue Vistor Interagro and Zerbino Interagro put on a show that the crowd will remember for a long time.”

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12749

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

Lipizzaner Stallions and Riders Perform Classical Dressage for the King of Bahrain

1 Comment
Holly Johnson of JRPR and the Lipizzan stallion, Pluto Valdamora, also known as Pete. Pete was one of eight Lipizzans to be rescued from neglect and brought into the show to perform the courbette, the most difficult of the ‘airs above the ground’ maneuvers. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain (December 17, 2010) – Ten horses and eight riders braved a 16-hour plane ride to the Middle East this November to present the King of Bahrain with a demonstration of classical dressage. King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa staged the Bahrain Animal Production Show this month and brought in the Lipizzaner Stallion Show as the headliner. Also known as the Mara’ee, the agricultural show featured animal trainers, breeders and performers from around the world.

Holly Johnson, a marketing associate for JRPR, Inc, was one of the eight riders to perform in Bahrain. The 23-year-old joined the tour immediately after graduating from the University of Miami in May of 2009, and was thrilled to be asked to ride overseas. Johnson works as a marketing associate for Johnny Robb Public Relations (JRPR), an equestrian focused PR firm based in Wellington, Florida.

“Bahrain was quite an experience. We had to ride the stallions through hordes of people, as well as past camels, goats, donkeys and Arabian horses in full traditional dress. But the stallions are used to intimidating situations and were very well behaved, for the most part,” Johnson added with a laugh. “It was also wonderful to see all of the Lipizzans again since you get so attached to them when you’re all traveling and showing on the road.”

Continue reading Lipizzaner Stallions and Riders Perform Classical Dressage for the King of Bahrain →

*Featured/Spotlights, Art/Photography, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Products/Services, Show Jumping

BREYER Releases GG Valentine & Heartbreaker Model Horses

Leave a comment
GG Valentine and Heartbreaker. Photos: BREYER and Courtesy of the Client

Buffalo, NY – December 16, 2010 – Legendary mare GG Valentine has done it again.  This time not in the show ring, as she was retired from showing in 2007, but as a mother after having another legendary baby. Due to her incredible success both as a championship hunter and a fantastic broodmare, BREYER has released a new model horse of GG Valentine with the colt Heartbreaker. GG Valentine and her rider Jennifer Alfano were one of the leading hunter combinations in the nation from 2001 to 2007. In 2007 at the Devon Horse Show, GG Valentine was retired in a special ceremony, accompanied by Alfano, owner Barbara Kearney, and trainers Susie Schoellkopf, Emil Spadone and Sharon O’Neill.

GG Valentine’s third foal was born in February of 2010 and will be shown under the name Heartbreaker. The beautiful weanling is by Oh Star, a 2000 U.S. Olympic show jumping team alternate ridden by Todd Minikus. “The birth went perfectly,” noted Kearney. “GG was a perfect mother and he was full of himself for the first six months. He really enjoyed running around the field carrying his feed pale and learning to be a horse.” This is incredible mare and foal duo can now be yours by purchasing the replica BREYER horse and foal model at any local tack store or at www.breyerhorses.com.

Continue reading BREYER Releases GG Valentine & Heartbreaker Model Horses →

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

FEI and Reem Acra Give Christmas Treat to Children from Inner City London Horse Charity

Leave a comment
Laura Bechtolsheimer (centre) and Shetland pony foal Minty with members of the Ebony Horse Club from Brixton during the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage qualifier, with Lisa Wells (far right), Reem Acra, Director of Special Events and Sponsorships (Photo: Phil Mingo/FEI)

London, 15 December 2010 – A group of children from one of London’s most disadvantaged boroughs got an early Christmas treat today (Wednesday 15 December), when they were invited by Hollywood fashion designer, Reem Acra, and the governing body for horse sport, the FEI, to attend one of the sport’s premier events in London.

The London International Horse Show at Olympia, venue for the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage, is one of the most glamorous events on the FEI calendar and is attended by members of the British Royal family and other high profile celebrities.

Today, children from the Ebony Horse Club charity got a chance to experience some of that glamour – from one of the best seats in the house.

International fashion designer Reem Acra, new sponsor of the FEI World Cup Dressage, invited the children to experience the magic of world-class Dressage whilst enjoying dinner in the sponsor’s hospitality suite.

The group also met one of the UK’s leading Dressage riders Laura Bechtolsheimer, who recently won three silver medals at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

Continue reading FEI and Reem Acra Give Christmas Treat to Children from Inner City London Horse Charity →

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

Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2010/2011 – Round 4, Olympia

Leave a comment
Adelinde Cornelissen celebrates her second successive win in the 2010/2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series with Jerich Parzival at Olympia in London (GBR) tonight. Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI

CORNELISSEN AND PARZIVAL MAKE IT A DOUBLE AT OLYMPIA – HADDAD FORGES AHEAD IN THE RANKINGS by Louise Parkes

Olympia, London (GBR), 15 December 2010 – The Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival secured a second resounding victory in the 2010/2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series when heading the line-up at the fourth leg at Olympia in London, Great Britain, tonight.  The exciting atmosphere in the packed Grand Hall tested some of the equine competitor’s nerve-endings to the limit, but the Dutch duo rose to the challenge to create what Ground Jury President, Andrew Gardner of Great Britain, described as “a very whole picture – it was very complete with no issues, and there was brilliance in this test!” he said afterwards.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12727