Trail and Gaited Enthusiasts Celebrate as Tom Seay and Liz Graves Join Equine Extravaganza’s Celebrity Line-Up
Doswell, VA: The excitement mounts as this year’s Equine Extravaganza rounds out its exceptional cast of equine experts with two more horse industry icons. Equine Extravaganza is pleased to welcome Tom Seay, the producer and talent from the TV show “Best of America by Horseback”, and gaited clinician extraordinaire, Liz Graves, to the already star studded cast, October 29-13, 2010 at The Meadow Event Park, Doswell, Virginia.
Tom Seay’s trail riding experience is virtually unparalleled. In 1995 he led “The American Transcontinental Trail Ride” where he took a group of horseback riders and wagons from Savannah, Georgia, all the way to San Diego, California. It was a four and a half month trail ride with more than 250 riders participating. Not only does Tom have the personal trail riding experience to share, but he has a vast wealth of general horse knowledge that he has been gathering since he was five years old.
The Special Olympics Equestrian County Games will be held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival on Saturday, March 13, from 8 a.m. to noon.
The festivities will be held in Ring 7 on the show grounds, and the event will also use the lunging/schooling ring behind Ring 7.
Forty riders will compete in various disciplines from assisted riding to trail riding, dressage, and pole bending. “We strive to let them ride to the highest of their ability,” says Ruth Menor of Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center.
Come watch the event and cheer on the riders at this fun event where everybody wins. In addition to the competition, there will be a receptacle available at ringside to collect anyone’s show clothes that they would like to donate. Any helmets, breeches, jackets, show shirts and more that are in good condition will be very welcome.
Bo Winslow serves some Dutch-oven peach cobbler to a 2009 QuarterFest participant.
At QuarterFest 2010, clinician Bo Winslow explains everything you need to know for a back-country horseback camping trip.
Bo Winslow, a clinic instructor with the Certified Horsemanship Association, will be featured April 30 at QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Bo will provide information and advice for horsemen preparing for a backcountry camping trip.
His clinics on April 30 include:
Preparing for the Trip: the rules and regulations of the camping/packing area you are visiting.
Choosing the Right Horse: discuss the conformation you are looking for in your pack and riding animals.
Securing Horses at the Campsite: practicing secure knots, learning to tie a picket line that will secure several horses overnight and many other ways to secure horses.
Packing Your Horse: learn and practice using the double-diamond hitch and the box hitch, two very basic hitches used by many packers in the industry.
Choosing Your Campsite: learn what to look for in a campsite, low-impact guidelines, building a fire in tough conditions, and setting up and taking down camp with the least amount of impact.
Dutch-Oven Cooking: learn to prepare biscuits and cobbler using a Dutch oven.
IMPORTANT! Your Voice Counts!Speak up for Trails, Walking and Biking Now
On Tuesday, September 15, Senators John McCain (Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) issued two amendments to the FY10 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. If passed, these amendments would eliminate the majority of available federal funds for trails, riding, walking and bicycling.
Call your US State senators and tell them to vote against the Coburn/MCCain Amendments (2370 + 2371) to the Transportation -Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill. State that Trails are one way we can pursue economic development through Tourism in rural areas. Horse trails are also part of our country’s culture and heritage. These amendments would remove a major source of funds for trails.
Just yesterday the Kentucky Horse Council received word that Senators Tom Coburn (Okla.) and John McCain (Ariz.) had issued the amendments to the FY10 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. Their changes specifically attack funding for rail-trails, bicycling and walking. (Note from KY Horse Council, this same fund provides grants for horse trails.) Please take a minute right now to call your senator and ask him or her to vote against Amendments 2370 and 2371 to H.R. 3288.
Your voice is urgently needed. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on eliminating walking and biking funds today, September 16. Amendment 2370 would prohibit the use of federal funds for pedestrian or bicycle facilities, efforts to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife, or other specified Transportation Enhancement (TE) projects if the Highway Trust Fund cannot cover unfunded highway authorizations.
Amendment 2371 would allow states to eliminate spending on TE, the nation’s largest funding source for trails, walking and bicycling. Congress currently sets aside a portion of federal funds for TE to support these projects in all states.
This is truly an all-hands-on-deck moments. Please act now-call your senator and ask him or her to vote against the proposed amendments.
Providing opportunities for Americans to walk, bike, horseback-ride and take transit to get where they’re going improves our communities’ health and livability, reduces emissions, creates jobs and save money.
If you know who your senators are, their phone numbers are listed here – PDF (in the format 202-224-xxxx). To look up your senators by state and find their phone numbers, go here.
Next, please call your senators with the following message:
I am calling from (city, state) to urge that Senator ______ vote against Amendments 2370 and 2371 to H.R. 3288. These amendments would jeopardize essential Transportation Enhancements projects such as trails and other walking and bicycling infrastructure. These projects are highly valued in my community, and we need more safe and convenient opportunities to walk and bike. How does Senator _____ plan to vote on these amendments?
It is best to use your own words. If you personalize your comments, please be sure to end your call by asking how the senator plans to vote. This is critical information for us to have, and puts the office on notice that they will be accountable.
Once you have made your calls, please tell us how they went (click here for the Rails-to-Trails page) so we can track progress and plan next steps. Thank you,
Press Release compiled for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and TrailLink websites and Horsesdaily Media Services, a division of Phelps/Hathaway Enterprises, INC horsesdaily.com
The Palatka to Lake Butler or Lake Butler to Palatka trail in NorthEast FLorida has approximately six miles of paved trail which transverses the southern tip of Clay County. The Clay County department of recreation has just completed a pavilion and hitching post for horses at the trail head/county park – Twin Lakes County Park. This is a wonderful facility and provides a beginning point for anyone wanting to ride the entire approximately 26 miles from Keystone Heights, FL to just outside of Palatka, FL.
The main thing needed for this facility to become a true jewel is the involvement of the equestrian community to clean a pathway beside the trail where it is paved and to continue the clearing and development for the rest of the unpaved trail to Palatka and/or Lake Butler. If this trail is cleared and developed it would provide approximately 60 miles of “off-road” equestrian trails. While there may be funds available in the state stimulus bill, most of the work involved would only be clearing the brush beside the old railroad bed.
As an additional bit of information, this trail facility connects to the Gold Head Branch State Park north of Keystone Heights where an equestrian facility also exists, and where camping is provided. Another bit of information – there are opportunities for the purchase/development of private equestrian camping facilities adjacent to the trail. If some organization or individual has the financial resources and inclination, the opportunity is there for the development of a complete equestrian camping facility in NE Florida that could be used all year due to our moderate winters.
I, Rick Bebout, am the Founding President of the organization that lead the effort to purchase this abandoned rail way and I want to see it developed and used to its full potential. Please consider disseminating this information to anyone you know that may be interested in assisting. You may email me at r.s.bebout@gmail.com for more information and to provide assistance in getting this trail completed! Thanks in advance for any efforts you can provide.
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