The American Quarter Horse Journal – To better utilize the talents of the professionals within the American Quarter Horse show industry, two American Quarter Horse Association standing committees have been replaced with a new committee: the AQHA Shows and Professional Horsemen Committee.
“This is a great integration of professional horsemen,” said AQHA President Peter J. Cofrancesco III. “It’s a forward-thinking recommendation that was considered and approved at the 2011 AQHA Convention and allows professionals on the AQHA Professional Horsemen’s Committee to have input into the programs, events and areas of the show industry where they can have the greatest effect. It streamlines certain areas of the rule-change development, recommendation and adoption process, and it better utilizes the talents and expertise of the professional horsemen pool.”
Cofrancesco is quick to point out that the new committee brings together the strengths of both the previous show and professional horsemen’s committees.
“We compliment the Professional Horsemen’s Committee for everything it did to get the AQHA Professional Horsemen’s Association up and running,” he added. “With this integration of the two committees, AQHA will be able to develop more programs, membership ideas and more professional horsemen who can be utilized on AQHA committees and task forces for various initiatives.
Bökeberg, Sweden – Set in a beautiful arena and in front of a capacity crowd, the 2011 FEI World Reining Final was an electric atmosphere at Bökebergs Gård, Sweden, just outside of Malmö. The best reining horses in the world contested the highly coveted title and Tom McCutcheon of the United States was flawless in his effort to the top of the podium.
Riding Darlins Not Painted to an extraordinary score of 229.5, McCutcheon – the double-Gold medalist at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games – added another Gold medal to his impressive resume and continues his dominance of international high-performance reining events. Darlins Not Painted is owned by Turnabout Farm.
In the Silver medal position, also from the U.S., Craig Schmersal aboard Miss Lil Addy Tude, owned by KC Performance Horses, gave the crowd a thrill with an incredible score of 227.5. Schmersal, showing on the mare at only the second FEI Reining event, had nothing but praise for his mount and the attractive American Quarter Horse was one of the crowd favorites from the first horse inspection.
Balance over your horse’s center of gravity in the two-point position.
By AQHA Professional Horseman Shane George with Christine Hamilton for The American Quarter Horse Journal
The red shaded areas in this photo show common problems riders have with the half seat: hands and arms too far back, poorly positioned or swinging lower leg, and rounded shoulders and back. Journal illustration.
There are two basic seats for a hunter rider: full seat and half seat. For the hunters and jumpers, it’s important to have the ability to use both.
In a “full seat,” you have contact with your seat in the saddle. You sit on the horse’s back, riding each stride in a collected manner. It’s the seat you use in rail work.
In a “half seat,” you get up off your seat, out of the saddle and find a balance that’s a little more forward. It allows you to get your balance up and over your lower leg and over the horse’s center of gravity in his shoulder and wither. It’s a dynamic position, giving the rider more flexibility in how he moves with the horse.
How much your seat is out of the saddle depends on what you’re doing at the moment. If you’re in between jumps in a course, you might ride with your seat up but closer to the saddle, almost hovering over it. But if you’re going over a jump, your seat will be clearly up out of the saddle.
The American Quarter Horse Journal, May 11, 2011 – American Quarter Horse Racing’s all-time leading money earner Stolis Winner got back to the winner’s circle Saturday at Remington Park and back into the AQHA Racing-Horseplayernow.com National Top 10 poll this week. Winner of Sunday’s Bank of America Remington Championship Challenge (G2), Stolis Winner improved his bankroll to $2,221,911 and vaults to No. 6 in the 2011 balloting.
Louisiana Senator and Good Reason SA remain 1-2 in the rankings for 3-year-olds and older this week. Meanwhile, Freighttrain B ran Sunday in the Heritage Place Derby (G2) trials and posted the third-fastest qualifying time to solidify his spot at No. 3 in the national poll. Sam Houston Classic (G2) winner The Louisiana Cartel won his third-straight race of the year Saturday and moves up two spots to No. 4.
Meanwhile, Mighty B Valiant leap-frogs Valiant War Hero to top this week’s national rankings for 2-year-olds. Unbeaten in three career starts, Mighty B Valiant dominated his Heritage Place Futurity (G1) trial on Sunday. Also among the juveniles, Fast Prize Jordan debuts in the poll at No. 9 this week after a sharp trial win for the Heritage Place Futurity.
The American Quarter Horse Journal — In many cases, AQHA rule changes are the result of recommendations from AQHA members or the various AQHA standing committees.
Once approved at convention by the respective AQHA standing committees, the rule changes are then reviewed by the AQHA Executive Committee and approved by the AQHA Board of Directors. The Executive Committee has the final word on all rule changes except changes to the Association’s bylaws and any rules and regulations pertaining to the registration of horses.
The American Quarter Horse Journal, April 13, 2011 – Louisiana Senator leap-frogged Good Reason SA in balloting this week as the new No. 1 in the AQHA Racing-Horseplayernow.com national poll for older horses. The two top shortliners of 2011 had been nip and tuck in balloting for the past few weeks and pollsters this week gave the edge to the former No. 2. Louisiana Senator won the Leo Stakes (G1) at Remington Park on March 26 for his second victory at the meeting.
Meanwhile, Rylees Boy debuted at No. 5 this week, one of three new horses in the Top 10. Also breaking into the poll for the first time this season were PK Fire at No. 8 and Fall For It at No. 10.
Gerardo Ochoa’s Rylees Boy captured Sunday’s Bank of America Sunland Championship Challenge (G2) at Sunland Park as a prompt favorite, his second consecutive win in the race. Meanwhile, Mike Abraham and Alfonzo Pasquel’s PK Fire shocked the field as the 37-1 winner of Sunday’s El Primero Del Ano Derby (G2) at Los Alamitos. Brian Hyde’s Fall For It, meanwhile, continues to improve and prove herself a bargain $6,250 claim as Saturday she advanced to five-for-nine lifetime with a win in the La Primera Del Ano Derby (G2), also at Los Alamitos.
The American Quarter Horse Journal — Beginning July 1, 2011, all horses entering the grounds for any AQHA world championship show – in Oklahoma City, Amarillo or Houston – will be required to present a certificate of a negative blood test for equine piroplasmosis. The tests must have been completed within the previous six months and will cost exhibitors $30-$40 per horse.
Equine piroplasmosis is a disease of horses, donkeys, mules and zebras that is caused by two parasitic organisms, Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. Although, equine piroplasmosis is primarily transmitted to horses by ticks, this bloodborne disease has been spread mechanically from animal to animal by contaminated needles.
Currently, racetracks in 11 states have testing requirements for Equine Piroplasmosis and that number will increase. With the potential of an infected racehorse retiring to the show pen, the show industry is vulnerable.
“As the industry leader, AQHA needs to be vigilant and establish testing requirements to ensure any case of equine piroplasmosis can’t be traced back to an AQHA event,” said Tom Persechino, AQHA executive director of competition and breed integrity. “We’re encouraging all exhibitors to contact their veterinarians to schedule these tests. If the tests are completed around the second week of July, that horse will be eligible to show at the youth, select and open/amateur world without requiring another test.”
The American Quarter Horse Journal — The Most Valuable Professional and the Don Burt Professional Horseman and Horsewoman of the Year awards were presented tonight during the 2011 AQHA Convention Awards Banquet. The awards were presented by AQHA Corporate Partner Professional’s Choice.
Wanda Lounder
The Most Valuable Professional or “MVP” of 2010 is Wanda Lounder. Wanda serves as the Maine Quarter Horse Association second vice president as well as the youth co-adviser. She leads with the goals of “bringing the youth in, not as competitors, but as an organization.” Under her leadership, local youth involvement has grown. In a traditionally individualistic sport, Wanda encourages teamwork, saying she wants “the youth not only to compete and grow as competitors, but to grow as a team, as well.”
When financial uncertainty jeopardized the local futurities, Wanda stepped up again. Her business, Double L Equestrian Center, sponsored several events, such as the hunter under saddle futurity and non-pro green horse trail futurity, and also small-fry classes. Wanda always makes sure the small-fries are recognized with ribbons and even high-point small-fry trophies.
The American Quarter Horse Journal – At its annual convention in Grapevine, Texas, the American Quarter Horse Association handed out its coveted all-around high-point awards in the youth, amateur and open divisions. Molli Lyn Jacobs and Radical McCue won the Featherlite AQHA Youth All-Around High-Point title; Lindsey Stevenson and RL Cocoas Version won the Featherlite AQHA All-Around Amateur title; and Four Bonnie Bay, owned by Mike St. Clair of Kahoka, Missouri, won the Featherlite Open All-Around High-Point title.
All-Around Youth
In 2010, Molli Lyn Jacobs rode her way into AQHA history books as the Featherlite AQHA Youth All-Around High-Point Champion with Radical McCue. They also collected youth high-point titles in showmanship and performance halter geldings, and finished third in trail, fourth in horsemanship and fifth in hunt seat equitation. Radical McCue is a 2000 bay gelding by Radical Rodder and out of Jetterri McCue by Tuff Joe Jet.
“He’s very athletic and very strong,” says Molli, a high school senior at Garaway High School in Sugarcreek, Ohio. “You could put him through anything, and he’s going to come out stronger than before.”
The American Quarter Horse Journal — A couple of Game Patriot sons – Toast To Patriot and Awholeseparategame – hold fastest-qualifier honors to the $264,876 Mardi Gras Futurity (RG2) and the $93,898 Mardi Gras Derby, respectively, scheduled for March 8 at Louisiana Downs.
The two stakes are for Louisiana-breds, with the Mardi Gras Futurity the first official futurity of 2011. Each of the participants in the 15 Mardi Gras Futurity trials on February 19 made their career debuts in those trials.
Kris Locklear’s Toast To Patriot (Game Patriot-Toast The Streaker by Toast To Dash) topped the trials when he grabbed a daylight lead and then pulled out to a nearly 3-length trial win. The Vann Haywood-trained colt raced the 300 yards in :15.620.
Daniel Gonzalez’s Blues Fine Corona (Jess Louisiana Blue-Miss Fine Corona by Corona Cartel) also showed promise with an impressive trial win. The Katie Carlos-trained colt handily won his trial by 2 lengths and posted the second-fastest qualifying time of :15.683.
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