Elizabeth Towell Boyd and Brunello won the Sanctuary High Performance Working Hunter division during the fifth week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Louise Serio and Castle Rock (pictured) won the title during week six. (Photo courtesy of Sportfot)
Wellington, FL (February 24, 2011) – The Sanctuary at PBIEC, the new world-class full horse therapy and conditioning center located on the Winter Equestrian Festival show grounds, honored two High Performance Working Hunter champions during the fifth and sixth weeks of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Elizabeth Towell Boyd and Brunello rode away as the High Performance Working Hunter Champions during week five and Louise Serio and Castle Rock captured the High Performance title during week six.
Boyd and Serio are well known in the show world and both have long resumes attesting to their success in the hunter ring. Boyd, who owns Brunello with Janet Peterson, works out of her family’s Finally Farm in South Carolina. Brunello, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding, is a veteran hunter who Boyd said she reserves for big classes. In 2010, Boyd and Brunello won the WCHR Palm Beach Hunter Classic Spectacular.
Serio and Castle Rock, week six winners of The Sanctuary High Performance Working Hunter Championship, showed the hunter world how to stay on top when they won the 2011 WCHR Palm Beach Hunter Classic Spectacular under the lights in the International Arena at PBIEC. Castle Rock, a 12-year-old KWPN Dutch Warmblood gelding by Corland, is one of the country’s leading hunters.
OCALA, FL (February 23, 2011) – What do you get when you mix beautiful weather, talented horsemen, first-class facilities, exciting events and fabulous prize money? The answer is simple: HITS Ocala! The Ocala Winter Festival marked the second AA rated week of show jumping in the ‘Sunshine State’.
The two Grand Prix and weekly Devoucoux Hunter Prix saw record-breaking entries this week. In Thursday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, Kent Farrington (above right) of Chicago, Illinois, emerged as the winner out of what was then a record 48 starters, aboard Up Chiqui, owned by William Dobbs, Alex Boone and Farrington. Thursday’s track proved challenging, as only five returned for the jump-off. Sunday’s $50,000 class set a new record three days later with 50 entries, as Andre Thieme of Germany and Cesar won their first Grand Prix of the season. Despite the bigger entries and challenges on Sunday’s course, 12 talented teams advanced to the jump-off for an exciting conclusion. Thieme also picked up the third place ribbon aboard his own Uvalier, while German native Matthias Hollberg, now of Apex, North Carolina, was second aboard Apex Equestrian Center’s Wadisson. Both Farrington and Thieme are aiming to qualify for the 2011 Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix on September 11 in Saugerties, New York.
$10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix The Devoucoux Hunter Prix has been the premier hunter event each week throughout the circuit, and Sunday’s outstanding $10,000 event showed just how eager the hunter riders are to qualify for the Diamond Mills $500,000 3’3″ Hunter Prix Final on September 10-11 in Saugerties, New York, as 70 riders tracked the course. Standing tall at the end of the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix was High-Performance rider Tracey Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas. Fenney, who is one of the all-time leading Grand Prix riders at HITS Ocala, was delighted to show her skills in the hunters aboard Mr. and Mrs. Ken MacKenzie’s MTM La Costa. Second place was awarded to standout junior Meg O’Mara aboard Walk the Line, owned by Don Stewart and O’Mara. The duo had a successful week at the Ocala Winter Festival, picking up two first place ribbons in the Large Junior Hunter 16-17 division, which helped earn them the Reserve Champion honors. Rounding out the top three was professional rider Kate Conover of Ocala, Florida aboard Doreen Toben’s Black Tie Affair.
The 2011 National Horse Show will be held at the new Alltech Indoor Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Photo Courtesy of Alltech.
New York, NY – February 23, 2011 – The National Horse Show Association of America, Limited (NHSAA) is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals as well as a full complement of hunters and jumpers in 2011. These exciting events will be held November 2-6, 2011, at the new Alltech Indoor Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. For the past five years, the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals have been held at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament in Syracuse, NY. After lengthy discussions with the top professionals in the hunter and equitation divisions, the National Horse Show determined that it is in the best interest of the sport, equitation division, and the Maclay to relocate the competition to a new venue.
The Board of Directors for the National Horse Show is looking forward to a bright future at the Kentucky Horse Park. “We’re very fortunate that Syracuse gave us a home until we could sort things out. It was a great stepping stone for what is going to be the future of the National Horse Show,” noted President Mason Phelps, Jr. “It is certainly our desire to make the National Horse Show in Kentucky as similar to Madison Square Garden as possible. The very first objective is to do the best we can by the Maclay Finals.”
“The Kentucky Horse Park is honored to be the new site of the National Horse Show’s ASPCA Maclay Finals,” said Kentucky Horse Park Executive Director John Nicholson. “I am personally elated and we are committed to do all that we can to make the show worthy of its grand history.”
Margaret Duprey's Otto, ridden at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games by Todd Flettrich. Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle
Wellington, FL – February 21, 2011 – The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach, which forms part of the world’s most prestigious dressage series, will take place on March 9-11, 2011 at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, FL. The preservation of WDM Palm Beach is due to the generous and enthusiastic support of its presenting sponsor, International Polo Club Palm Beach.
When it was announced that the 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach was to be cancelled, it appeared that the world’s richest dressage competition would disappear from North America. However, the Goodman family, International Polo Club Palm Beach and its members stepped in quickly to ensure that the show would go on. “In my talks with Mr. Goodman, he showed a profound interest in not only saving the Masters for 2011, but to extend IPC’s commitment for the long-term,” says WDM Managing Director John van de Laar. “WDM, IPC and Wellington Classic Dressage created a three year agreement, so from now on it can only get better.”
A dressage competition sponsored by a polo club isn’t as odd as it sounds. Events featuring dressage, such as the breast cancer fundraiser Challenge of the Americas, have been held at the International Polo Club for the past number of years. Approximately 20 percent of IPC members are involved with dressage in South Florida, including International Dressage Rider Arlene ‘Tuny’ Page.
Shawna Harding shares her big news of being the recipient of the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Award. Brett Parbery is back in the co-host chair and we welcome a new sponsor in EquiSketch. Join in with us right here…
The world is getting smaller. Of course that’s just a metaphor, but it’s very fitting. Jane has friends all over the world. When it’s snowing here in the USA, she has friends who remind her that it’s hot summer in Australia. It may be freezing in Canada, but it will be warm in Florida. Comparing weather is one of the easiest ways to measure just how far apart we are in miles or kilometers. But none of that really matters when you consider that we are just a thought or a click of the mouse away in ideas.
Ideas are more powerful than weapons, more powerful than armies, more powerful than the most entrenched dictator. It’s ideas that change the world, and ideas that change your life. Ideas inspire action, and that’s when the mountain really begins to move.
Without challenges we don’t have a lot of inspiration to come up with new ideas. That’s the gift to a problem or challenge. If you have no choice but to come up with a new idea, you will do so! I’m sure you’ve proven this to yourself many times.
If you have a challenge right now, have you made a list of ideas on how it can be handled? You’ll come up with even more ideas if you let someone join you in your brain storming. Find someone you trust and ask them to help you come up with ideas. Write them down, even if they are outrageous or seemingly impossible. Don’t judge or dismiss anything. You’ll probably find yourself laughing at the silly ideas, but just keep writing them down. Then, take just one of those ideas and figure out some action you can take right then toward that solution. Just one step…
NO SECRET SO CLOSE is the story of a the most unthinkable betrayal humanly possible — at only 24 years old, Claire Dorotik’s father has been murdered, her mother arrested, and now, in a sinister twist of fate, Claire’s mother points the finger at Claire, accusing her of killing her own father. Battling the feelings of loss, abandonment, terror, and dissociation, and also learning about them, Claire struggles to stay in her master’s program for psychotherapy. However, when Claire’s brothers also betray her and side with her mother, Claire is left all alone to care for the 18 horses she and her mother owned. As the story unfolds, what is revealed is the horses’ amazing capacity for empathy in the face of human trauma, and the almost psychic ability to provide the author with what had been taken from her. Arising from these horrifying circumstances, the most unthinkable heroes — the horses — show Claire that life is still worth living.
Excerpt #7 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:
And we were different, he and I. My dad had been a high school football star in Texas at a time when injuries like dislocated shoulders were not a reason to stop playing. You just get back in the game. Running track in high school, a scratched cornea and a patch over my eye were not reason for me to miss practice either. I had no depth perception and would have to live with the name “Cyclops” that my teammates chided me with for years after, but you just get back in the game.
People, for centuries, have been drawn to horses. Their power, grace, and mystique has not escaped the attention of thousands who are otherwise unfamiliar, as horse racing, in particular, has consistently drawn national attention. Additionally, the development of our relationship with horses has symbolized many societal changes. From the beginning, horses were used solely for work related tasks, such as plowing fields, transportation, and military conquests. At this time, little attention was paid to their welfare, and consequently, little more than rudimentary efforts were expected of them. However, as equines immersed into a multitude of cultures, and their unique qualities became more evident, they began to be looked at differently. With the realization of what more could be accomplished with horses, their societal value rose, as did the concern for their welfare. Soon horse racing evolved and shortly thereafter, a well stocked stable was considered a sign of wealth.
With horses evidencing wealth and stature, the exploration of just what it is about horses that provides this feeling soon emerged. Certainly, various theories came to the forefront, and while each one was somewhat different they were not separated in their belief that horses offer humans emotional wellness. Yet the question remained, what really constitutes the bond that horses and humans share?
Weatherly Stroh and Sigfried Top $5,000 WCHR Amateur-Owner 3’3″ Hunter Classic Spectacular
Wellington, FL – February 19, 2011 – The Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic was held today, and it was Marie Hecart (FRA) on Babbe van’t Roosakker, owned by Haras de la Rogue, who were the fastest double clear combination. They won the sixth event in the Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series, which will award $50,000 in rider bonus money at the end of the series.
The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival’s sixth week of competition continues through Sunday, February 20. Week six, sponsored by Fidelity Investments, will feature the $50,000 G&C Farm Palm Beach Jumping Derby on Sunday at 3 p.m. at The Stadium. The 2011 WEF will continue through April 3 and award more than $6 million in prize money.
There were 34 entries in today’s 1.50m classic, and seven of those were able to find the clear round over a course designed by Steve Stephens of Palmetto, FL. Hecart and Babbe van’t Roosakker, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Kannan, were able to keep a quick pace and efficient turns for the fastest clear jump-off ride in 39.496 seconds.
Rescue horses at Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue in Loxahatchee, FL. Photo courtesy of Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue.
WELLINGTON, FL – February 22, 2011 – What do Smarty Sides, Tucker, Dirty During, Babylon, Smart As Lil, and Pimento have in common? They are six of the rescue horses at Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue in Loxahatchee, Florida, that will be the equine performers at the Fete Cheval on Friday, March 11, 2011, in Wellington, Florida, presented by Foundation Farm.
“We are so pleased that Pure Thoughts, an all volunteer 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of horses, yearlings and foals, bound for slaughter and victims of starvation, neglect and abuse, is donating the horses for this year’s event. It is a wonderful opportunity to directly tie together our mission with the event that we are sponsoring, and an opportunity for our guests to see first hand that despite neglect and abuse, these horses can continue to have useful lives,” said Lynn Coakley, President of The EQUUS Foundation. Pure Thoughts (http://www.purethoughtshorserescue.com) is one of the 60 charities that received grants from The EQUUS Foundation in 2010.
Casual chic will be the attire for this fun-filled evening at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The event will include a cocktail reception, auction, and dinner, but the highlight of the evening will be the gymkhana games in the International Grand Prix Arena. Ralph Caristo, Leo Conroy, and a guest from the audience will “judge” the competitors. Mason Phelps, Jr., will emcee the event.
