Awards, Community/Charity, Conferences, Events, Products/Services, WHIN

Save a Horse, Win a WHINNY!

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Nashville, TN – The horse industry is coming to Music City and along with it is coming the 1st Annual WHINNY awards. The awards are being presented to individuals who use their high visibility to save and protect horses and promote the equine industry overall. The event is part of a three day annual meeting for the Women’s Horse Industry Network which runs from October 6-8 also at the Radisson Hotel.

The WHINNY awards dinner will be held October 6, 2011 at the Radisson Hotel Opryland starting at 6:00pm. Included in the evening’s program are live country music performances, the Rhythm & Hooves auction to benefit several equine charities and the presentation of the awards to this year’s recipients.

This year’s recipients include: animal rights and wild mustang advocate Madeleine Pickens, charitable horse industry leaders Elizabeth and William Shatner, horsewoman and advocate country music legend Lynn Anderson, music industry icons and thoroughbred racing breeders/racers Mike and Martha Borchetta, horsewoman and advocate singer/songwriter Templeton Thompson, and animal rights and music industry veteran Bonnie Garner.

The Rhythm & Hooves auction will be offering a large variety of items and some very special items including a signed guitar by Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow, from Curb Records, an autographed DragonCon badge from William Shatner, an autographed “61 hits” by George Strait, a breeding to a son of Seattle Slew by New Swan Farm, and an autographed book from Shania Twain. Madeleine Pickens will be donating a native American choker from artist Travis Jackson, Jr. from the Seminole tribe of Oklahoma. Elizabeth Shatner will be donating auction packages including a “Faire Game Package” including original artwork, her trademarked leather stirrup picture hangers (as seen on American Pickers!), also an “All Glory Package” including both an original portrait and a rare, limited edition autographed Breyer model of All Glory, the Shatner’s World Champion American Saddlebred . She will also be donating bottles of her custom-blended Faire Game White wine as door prizes.

Continue reading Save a Horse, Win a WHINNY! →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Media/Radio/TV Sources, National Horse Show, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Dover’s World to Highlight 128th Alltech National Horse Show

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Robert Dover. Photo courtesy of Client

Wellington, FL – September 14, 2011 – Robert Dover, dressage expert and former Olympian, will host the President of the National Horse Show Association on an upcoming session of his popular radio program, Dover’s World. Mason Phelps, Jr. who also runs Phelps Media Group in Wellington, FL, will appear on the September 20th program of Dover’s World to discuss the 128th Alltech National Horse Show. Joining Phelps and Robert Dover will be Leo Conroy, co-manager of the Alltech National Horse Show and Vice President of the National Horse Show Association of America.

Tickets are already on sale for this prestigious event, and listeners can tune in to Dover’s World next Tuesday to learn all about this year’s highly-anticipated contest. Taking place this year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, the Alltech National Horse Show will feature a wide array of both hunter and jumper events. In addition, the ASPCA Alfred P. Maclay finals will also occur during the show’s five-day run, November 2nd-6th, 2011.

“There is so much excitement in the air about the first Alltech National Horse Show to take place at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park,” commented Dover. “I am looking forward to speaking with Mason Phelps and Leo Conroy to hear of all the latest plans in the works to make the NHS better than ever! I hope everyone will tune in this Tuesday evening, September 20th, to Dover’s World, for all the information directly from the horse’s mouth!”

“With the show being in Lexington this year, there will be no shortage of topics to discuss on Tuesday’s show,” noted Phelps. “With an abundance of hunter and jumper events as well as the Maclay Finals, the competition is going to be more engaging than ever.”

Continue reading Dover’s World to Highlight 128th Alltech National Horse Show →

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 Day 2

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FIERCE BATTLE FOR THE MEDALS AS DUTCH LEAD THE TEAMS AND NAGEL HEADS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS, by Louise Parkes

Germany's Carsten-Otto Nagel and Corradina jumped to the top of the individual rankings at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 in Madrid, Spain today. The Dutch are leading the team rankings going into tomorrow's team decider. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Madrid (ESP), 15 September 2011 – The Dutch have stormed to the front going into tomorrow’s second and deciding round of the Team Championship while Germany’s Carsten-Otto Nagel leads the individual rankings after another thrilling day at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 in Madrid, Spain today.  But it remains a very close-fought affair in both competitions, with less than a fence between the quartet from The Netherlands and the Germans in second place, while the French are almost six points further adrift in third, and only four faults separates the top nine in the individual rankings.

Overnight leader, Olivier Guillon from France, plummeted to ninth when, last into the ring, Lord de Theize hit the wall at fence four in an otherwise flawless tour of the 13-fence track.  But it was the open water that was the talking point at the end of the day, as almost half of the 67 starters picked up penalties here.  Course designer, Spain’s Santiago Vareles, got an unexpected, and almost unprecedented, round of applause from the riders at the post-competition press conference when he agreed that the presentation of this obstacle should be re-examined and that he would get to work on it right away. “Tomorrow we will make some changes to be more fair for the horses at the water jump, it will be good for the sport and better for the horses,” he said. The alterations are expected to include a taller take-off board.

OPENING QUESTION
The 1.60m cheese-hole-style red wall, and topped with gold-coloured blocks, was the opening question on the first testing line of fences and was followed by a 1.70m-wide oxer at fence five which led to the triple combination at six – oxer, vertical, oxer.  After circling right to the 1.60m planks which caused relatively few problems it was then left-handed to the next challenging line that began with another 1.70m-wide oxer and then the influential 4.10m-wide water, with most riders opting for a holding five strides to the following vertical.  And there was plenty more to come, with the massive triple bar – 1.58m tall and stretching across a full 2.10m – leading to the penultimate candy-coloured double that punished many who had made it all the way there before dropping a pole.

Continue reading FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 Day 2 →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, Media/Radio/TV Sources

Taking It All In Gets a Lot Easier at Dressage at Devon 2011: Devon, Pennsylvania, September 27 – October 2, 2011

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September 2, 2011 (Devon, PA) – Spectators at 2011 Dressage at Devon (www.dressageatdevon.com) will be able to add multimedia to their experience. Dressage at Devon Radio, powered by FLR Sports Radio, allows guests to enhance their knowledge and education of dressage by listening to the comments and opinions of some of the foremost experts in the world of dressage.  Spectators will also get a behind the scenes listen to critiques of the rider and horse during their performance.

Starting Friday September 30th, spectators with the credit-card sized FLR Sports Radio will be able to listen in on comments from Alison Head, Sara Schmitt, and Kem Barbosa, as well as receive special announcements and content.  On Saturday September 1st the experts will include Suzanne King, Monica Sinks and Kathy Connelly.  Sunday September 2nd will include comments and opinions by Anne Moss and several others. Visitors will be able to watch the event from anywhere on the show grounds and still listen to the exclusive commentary, available only to those with a personal receiver.

Those new to Dressage will gain a true appreciation of the sport.  Professionals will gain new insights into what goes on behind the scene in the judges’ booth.

The FLR Sports Radio receiver is a lightweight credit card-sized radio receiver that comes complete with earbuds, battery and a lanyard to hang around the neck.

Continue reading Taking It All In Gets a Lot Easier at Dressage at Devon 2011: Devon, Pennsylvania, September 27 – October 2, 2011 →

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Para-Equestrian, USEF

Strong Field Set to Vie for 2011 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship

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Rebecca Hart 2010 National Champion. Photo by Fire and Earth Photography

Lexington, KY – A star-studded field of 22 horse-and-rider combinations is set to contest the USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship this weekend in Saugerties, NY. Held September 16-18 during the NEDA Fall Festival elite competition will be held in Grades 1a- IV. These championships are held in conjunction with the Saugerties CPEDI3*, which will host riders not only from the U.S. but also Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, and Mexico.

Competitors will ride three different test within their grade, the horse-and-rider combination with the highest final score will be crowned 2011 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Champion. The Team Test and Individual Championship Test will both count for 40% of the overall score; the final 20% of the cumulative score will be determined by the Freestyle Test.

Seven members of the Kentucky Equine Research U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team that competed at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will contest these championships. Jonathan Wentz, Kim Decker, Laura Goldman, Mary Jordan, Rebecca Hart, Robin Brueckmann, and Wendy Fryke look to utilize the experience they gained last fall in Kentucky.

Hart is among the most decorated athletes in para-equestrian competition, having represented the U.S. on both the World Championship and Paralympic stage. She prepared for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games by winning both champion and reserve honors at last year’s National Championship. She will try and claim her fifth championship in six years; she was also the winner of the 2006, 2008, and 2009 National Championships, with Jessica Ransehousen’s Lord Ludger.

Continue reading Strong Field Set to Vie for 2011 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship →

Rescue/Protection Sources

Senator Baucus Dons His Horse Slaughter Suicide Vest

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Newspapers from coast to coast are carrying stories about doomed Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) pleading for the Congress to bring horse slaughter back to America. Baucus is calling for an end to a ban on the funding of USDA horse slaughter inspections that has kept the industry out of America since 2007. In doing so Baucus is taking part in a growing tradition of political penance for disgraced members of the secretive horse slaughter caucus, one of the few remaining bipartisan institutions of Congress.

On August 28th, 2007, Senator Larry Craig became the first victim of the caucus when he was arrested in a restroom of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport for soliciting sex from an undercover officer. The incident was made all the more embarrassing by the fact that Craig had long crusaded against all forms of gay rights.

His career doomed, Craig (R-ID) was called upon to do his penance. Instead of resigning and slithering out of the searing glare of the public spot light, he was made to finish out his term as a senatorial road block against the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Thus Craig stood in the contemptuous gaze of his fellow senators and refused to allow the bill forward by denying “unanimous consent”. Now it is Senator Max Baucus’ turn to don his political suicide vest and go out in a final act of obedience to his keepers.

A career politician, Max Baucus was first elected to the Senate in 1978. He is up for re-election in 2012, but there is a roadside bomb waiting for his campaign to drive by and his keepers in Washington must know it will almost certainly be fatal.

Continue reading Senator Baucus Dons His Horse Slaughter Suicide Vest →

Community/Charity, Phelps Media Group

Mason Phelps of Phelps Media Group and PhelpsSports.com Appointed to President’s Circle of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce

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The Wellington Chamber of Commerce is honored to appoint Mr. Mason Phelps to our exclusive President’s Circle membership.  The Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s exclusive President’s Circle is a unique and exciting opportunity extended to established leaders of our community, local businesses and entrepreneurs.

A rider, trainer, event manager, governance leader and charity organizer, Mason Phelps Jr. has spent four decades helping to shape the equestrian industry. With the founding of Phelps Media Group Inc. in 2004, Phelps carved a niche into the world of public relations – equestrian promotions by people who understand the sport, the industry and the lifestyle.

As founder of Phelps Media Group Inc. International, Mason Phelps has been innovative in promoting not only his clients but also the equestrian sport industry in general. PMG Inc. represents clients, including horse shows, farms and athletes throughout the country, and keeps a presence nationwide. Staff work from venues in California, New York, Kentucky and Texas as well as the headquarters in Wellington. With the creation of PhelpsSports.com, a subscription-based website, the equestrian world was given an exclusive “channel” for access and promotion.

With a 30,000-name database of equestrian contacts, farm owners, sponsors and media professionals, Phelps’ access to key stakeholders, equestrian industry leaders and potential patrons is unmatched. In 2008, Phelps facilitated the entry of a new equestrian unit into the Rose Bowl Parade – something that hadn’t happened in nearly a century. The new unit was the United State Olympic Equestrian Team. Through a lifetime of involvement at multiple levels, key industry leaders are not just contacts. They are often close personal friends

Continue reading Mason Phelps of Phelps Media Group and PhelpsSports.com Appointed to President’s Circle of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce →

Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, JRPR, USEF, USEF

Barbara “Bebe” Davis Rides Away with Reserve Championship in Inaugural National Pony Rider Championship at 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions

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Barbara “Bebe” Davis and her pony Bohdjan are presented with their award by Jim Wolfe and Lois Yunkins. (Photo courtesy of Sue Stickle)

Gladstone, NJ (September 14, 2011) – The inaugural USEF National Pony Rider Championships may have been a small division at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions in Gladstone, New Jersey, but for Massachusetts resident Barbara “Bebe” Davis it was a big experience and one she will remember the rest of her life. Competing on her pony Bohdjan, Davis captured the Reserve Championship in the new National Pony division, but also experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in one single weekend.

Riders in the USEF Pony Rider Championship are the future of dressage riders for our country, and Davis said she would use her experience at Gladstone to grow and as a stepping-stone for future national competitions. Davis grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and her family bought a home in New Jersey to be close to their trainer, Dr. Cesar Parra, and his Piaffe Performance Farm.  “Bohdjan did really well the first day. We came in second with a score of 63.611% while Allison Cyprus came in first with a 63.944%, so I felt confident with such a close race,” Davis said. “During the awards ceremony my pony got scared and he never settled down the rest of the weekend and was certainly nervous during our second test and didn’t perform well. I was disappointed, to say the least, because I didn’t want to let my trainer Dr. Cesar Parra down.”

Parra, who trains Davis out of his Piaffe-Performance farm in New Jersey, praised the 13-year-old rider and said disappointment was the furthest thing from his mind. “I was really proud of Bebe. It’s very special to ride at Gladstone and coming up the hill to the arena, knowing there is a crowd of people on both sides can be intimidating,” Parra said. “Bebe handled it really well and it was a great and growing experience for her. A show like the Festival of Champions makes you a better and stronger rider mentally and no one can ever take the experience, and what you gain from it, away from you.”

Continue reading Barbara “Bebe” Davis Rides Away with Reserve Championship in Inaugural National Pony Rider Championship at 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions →

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Driving, Events, FEI

Shelly Temple to Represent US at World Pony Driving Championships

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Shelly Temple and Cooper compete in cones at the Germany National Championship in Minden, Germany, August 2011. Photo: Bettina Ruckelshaus

For the second time in her career, US National Champion Combined Pony Driver Shelly Temple and her Morgan gelding LR Ami B-Line (Cooper) will represent the US at the World Pony Driving Championships.  This year the event is held in Lipica, Slovenia, September 22-25, 2011.

Making the US Team has been a yearlong process for Shelly, Cooper, and her navigator/husband, Fran Doto.  They and other members of the long listed drivers have been competing and training under the tutelage of US driving coach, Michael Freund.  Overa August and September several long listed drivers have trained and competed in Europe.  In August, Shelly was 5th at the German National Championship in Minden, Germany where she won the dressage and cones classes for single ponies.

Shelly acknowledges the team aspect of combined driving: “I am thankful for the USEF’s support and the training and instruction from Michael Freund over the past year.  Michael’s coaching has been instrumental at improving all aspects of my driving.  I also appreciate the support of the individual donors and corporate sponsors whose products keep Cooper health, fit, and in top form: Kentucky Equine Research, Kombat Boots, Purina feeds, Omega Fields, ThinLine, Leather Therapy, and Charles Owens.  This is truly a team sport and I couldn’t be competing next week in the World Championships without the generosity of sponsors and all the great people who have donated to Team Catalyst.”

Other members of the USEF World Pony Driving Team are Miranda Cadwell, Jennifer Matheson, Wendy O’Brien, Laurie Astegiano, and Allison Stroud.  Suzy Stafford will compete as an individual.

U.S. Coverage will be available here: http://www.usefnetwork.com/coverage/archives.aspx.

More information is available here: http://www.lipica.org/en/enter-page/305?id=113.

To follow Shelly and Team Catalyst World Championship efforts, visit http://catalystdriving.blogspot.com/.

Community/Charity, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, National Horse Show, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Alltech National Horse Show Offers Limited Number of Executive Suites

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The Executive Suites at the Alltech Arena offer luxurious amenities and private comfort for families or corporate gatherings at this year's Alltech National Horse Show. Photos: Kentucky Horse Park

Lexington, KY – September 14, 2011 – The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th edition, announced today that a very limited number of Executive Suites will be made available this year’s debut event, scheduled for the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, on November 2nd through the 6th.

The elegant suites, located on the top level of the new Alltech Arena, present a superb penthouse view of all of the action for the Alltech National Horse Show and offer fabulous amenities. The suites are fully furnished with private balcony seating. Each suite comes complete with a wet bar, refrigerator, an enclosed glass front and a 42″ LCD television, equipped with Dish Network. The arena sound levels can be controlled in each suite, there are separate suite level restrooms and Executive Suite holders enjoy an exclusive entrance to the Alltech Arena.

Suites can be purchased for the week by contacting National Horse Show Association President, Mason Phelps Jr. directly at 561-753-3389, or email Mason at: mpjr@phelpsmediagroup.com.

Phelps said of the suites, “These Executive Suites are a great place to watch all of the action in the Alltech Arena, and at the same time, have some privacy and exclusivity for family or corporate get-togethers. I wish we had more to sell than the few that are available.”

The cost of the suites for the week is $7500, not including food and beverage.

The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition, will be held from November 2-6, 2011, at the beautiful, new Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Continue reading Alltech National Horse Show Offers Limited Number of Executive Suites →

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