WEG Gold Medalist Shawn Flarida is the first rider in history to become the NHRA’s Four Million Dollar Winner. Flarida is shown riding Wimpy’s Little Chic. (Photo courtesy of Waltenberry)
St. Louis, MO (February 8, 2011) – Arenus, a premier provider of innovative health and nutritional products for pets and horses, is pleased to announce that Shawn Flarida, an Arenus Ambassador, is the first rider in history to become the National Reining Horse Association’s (NRHA) Four Million Dollar Rider. The NRHA has reported that Flarida’s earnings are $4,023,885.
“We are so excited for Shawn and couldn’t be prouder,” said Arenus Business Manager Simone Pophal, DVM, Ph.D. “Shawn reached the four million dollar mark during the 2010 NRHA Futurity in Oklahoma.”
Flarida, who was already the NHRA’s first Three Million Dollar Rider, topped four million dollars with rides in the finals on Quistador, owned by Augustine and Gaynia Revenberg, and Shine Chic Shine, owned by Amabile & Strusiner. A tie for third in the $100,000 NRHA World Championship Shootout on Wimpys Little Chic, owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA, helped Flarida earn more than $100,000 to become the NRHA’s first Four Million Dollar Rider.
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 #5 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:
“I only know one. But he’s very good.” Two years before I had been sued. I was trying to sell my first horse Cheers, when a woman and her daughter saw him at a horse show and asked if they could take him on trial. I was naïve, and they seemed nice. We wrote a contract on the back of a show entry and shook hands. “The buyer will have two weeks to try the horse, at the end of which time she can either purchase him for the agreed price of $10,000, or give him back.” That’s what it said, word for word. It didn’t say that if I took my horse back when they didn’t buy him that it would result in “emotional damages” to her daughter. When the woman chased the hauler down the freeway in her Range Rover, honking and swearing at him, I thought he was the one who would suffer emotional damages. She wanted longer than two weeks, but didn’t want to pay for the horse. I just wanted my horse back. But she sued me anyway and hired a prestigious attorney. I had no money. I couldn’t even decipher the papers I had been served with. When I showed it to the trainer I was riding for at the time, she said, “You gotta call Mike, he’s the best.” I took the number and the papers and went to see him. When he saw the name of the woman’s attorney, he told me I was in trouble. But he took the case for $500. It was a pro-bono for him. I thought it was an act of sympathy.
So I gave him a call. He didn’t hesitate. He also didn’t ask questions. Another act of sympathy. “Kerry Steigerwald. Call Kerry Steigerwald.”
While those familiar to horses would contend that horses, in general, are good for any type of person, therapists, for whom which equine therapy is a new, untested field, have not been so quick to jump on the bandwagon. Many of the concerns expressed have surrounded the relative lack of evidence available indicating the efficacy of work with horses, but also, lack of clarity as to what particular diagnosis may be helped by equine therapy. Certainly these concerns are not without validity as we have learned that with the fertile emergence of all types of experiential therapies, some approaches are not helpful, and in some ways harmful, for certain types of clients.
So in considering the introduction of equine therapy for clients, we must be clear just who can be helped by our equine friends, as with other experiential methods, equine therapy is not for everyone. However, from the beginning, equine therapy was promoted for all types of clients, with the largest and most prominent usage surrounding eating disorders. Remuda Ranch, in Wickenburg, Arizona (www.remudaranch.com), has in many ways been a trendsetter in this movement. This particular center, which is designed exclusively for the treatment of pervasive cases of eating disorders, incorporates horses with every client, and the equine therapy program enjoys a large share of treatment time.
Of late, equine therapy has been espoused as an effective treatment for addictions, with the majority of centers promoting this, among other experiential therapies as a way to engage and ascertain information from clients who might otherwise be treatment resistant. The frontrunner in this approach has been Sierra Tucson, (www.sierratucson.com) the prominent rehabilitation center in Tucson Arizona. Like Remuda Ranch, equine therapy is a part of every client’s program, and the center’s sister site, Miraval (www.miravalresorts.com), a less intense and more akin to a “health spa,” uses equine therapy in majority to restore balance and wellness to clients’ lives.
Champ 163 and Rodrigo Pessoa won the Arenus Performance and Conditioning Award during the third week of the WEF. Melissa Bennington and Kristen Galvan, Sales Specialists for Arenus, presented Pessoa with the award. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Wellington, FL (February 7, 2011) – Brazilian Olympic Gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa rode away as the winner of the Arenus Performance and Conditioning Award aboard Champ 163 during the third week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Champ 163, owned by Legacy Stables LLC, finished ninth in the 1.50m Jumper Classic.
“Rodrigo is a legend in the show jumping world and it was a thrill to present him with the Arenus Performance and Conditioning Award,” said Melissa Bennington, northeast Sales Specialist for Arenus. “Rodrigo made history and broke a world record when he and Baloubet du Rouet won the World Cup Final three years in a row. Rodrigo has also competed and medaled in multiple Olympics and Pan Am Games and it was an honor to meet him and present him with the Arenus award.”
The Performance and Conditioning Award is sponsored by Arenus, a premier provider of innovative health and nutrition products for pets and horses, and is given to one horse during the show whose conditioning enhances its performance. Kristen Galvan, an Arenus Sales Specialist for the southeast, was also thrilled to meet Rodrigo. “It’s not often you get to meet someone who has made such an impact on the show jumping world,” she said.
February 7, 2011 – Chicago (EWA) – On February 1st, Utah Senator David P. Hinkins introduced joint resolution S.J.R 11, titled “A Resolution Expressing Opposition to Federal Restoring Our Mustangs Act.” The resolution expresses opposition to federal bills H.R. 1018 / S. 1579, known collectively as the ROAM Act. The only problem is that the ROAM Act was from the 111th Congress and no longer exists.
The ROAM act was passed by the House of Representatives on July 19, 2009 but was never taken up by the Senate and died with the end of the 111th Congress. Though initially popular among wild horse advocates, growing suspicion that ROAM could be used by the Obama Administration to implement its “Salazar Plan” caused it to lose support.
The “Salazar plan” would remove mustangs from their native habitats in the West, sterilize them, and leave them to die out on Midwestern feedlots. So intent is the Administration on this plan, that it rejected a private refuge plan offered by Madeleine Pickens, wife of oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens. That plan would have left the horses on a large tract of their native lands which the Pickenses had purchased.
Noreen O'Sullivan and John Flanagan will be the management team for the 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach. Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG.
Wellington, FL (February 8, 2011) – The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach is set to take place at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center on March 9-11, 2011. The World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group is the world’s richest dressage series, with 100,000 Euros in prize money offered at the Palm Beach event alone. It attracts many of the world’s top competitors, including Olympic and World Championship medalists. Twenty of the world’s top ranked dressage pairs from Europe, the US, and Canada will be invited to compete in this prestigious event.
The American leg of the Masters, North America’s only CDI5* competition, was in danger of being cancelled for 2011, but thanks to the generous support of the Goodman family, International Polo Club Palm Beach and the show management team of Wellington Classic Dressage, the show will go on. Wellington Classic Dressage has entered into an agreement to host the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach for the next three years.
“On behalf of Wellington Classic Dressage, we are honored to have the opportunity to host this very prestigious event, with the help and support of our presenting sponsor International Polo Club Palm Beach and Akiko Yamazaki,” says Noreen O’Sullivan, show manager for Wellington Classic Dressage.
Olympic stars Laura Kraut and Cedric won The Sanctuary Peak Performance Award during the fourth week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sportfot)
Wellington, FL (February 8, 2011) – Winter Equestrian Festival veteran Laura Kraut, and her Gold Medal Olympic partner Cedric, not only cruised to victory in the $78,000 Adequan Grand Prix during the fourth week of WEF, but the pair also rode away with The Sanctuary Peak Performance Award. Sponsored by The Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Center, the award is presented to a horse with a successful performance due to their conditioning and fitness level.
Cedric, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Chambertin x Carolus Z and owned by Happy Hill Farm, proved he was fit and ready to be back in the winner’s circle when he bested 48 other entries to gallop away with the blue ribbon. Cedric, who competed with Kraut at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, recently enjoyed two months off and this class was his first return to the Grand Prix ring.
“Cedric is an amazing horse and The Sanctuary was thrilled to award Laura and Cedric with the Peak Performance Award. From his 2008 Olympic Gold Medal victory to his victory in this Grand Prix, Cedric has an extraordinary ability and is a great pleasure to watch. When he is galloping around the course it is easy to see that he is fit and well conditioned, which of course helps lead to his winning performance,” said Brenda McDuffee, General Manager of The Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Center. “We will be awarding six Peak Performance Awards during the Grand Prix’s at WEF and we want to congratulate Laura and Cedric on winning the first Peak Performance Award from The Sanctuary.”
Dressage under the Stars week one musical freestyle winner Chris Von Martels is joined by (l-r) Ted Rekal-Nuttall, Jane Savoie, Carole Grant, Tami Hoag, Rick Rockefeller-Silvia, and Juan Gonzalez. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Chris Von Martels Wins Dressage under the Stars Week 1
Wellington, FL (February 6, 2011) – For the third year in a row, Dressage under the Stars, held patio-side at The Players Club Bar & Grille, is the place to be on Wednesday nights in Wellington. This year will bring another eight weeks of exciting rider and horse combinations competing for weekly prizes and an opportunity for riders to return the final week to perform in the grand finale. Attendees were again guaranteed an enchanting night of FEI level musical freestyles, fine dining, cocktails, and new this year a VIP champagne tent.
Chris Von Martels stole the show with his winning performance on Don Darveen, a warmblood gelding by Donnerhall. Von Martels performed to music that included the Black Eyed Peas for a fun hip-hop combination musical freestyle. Don Darveen’s owner, Regina Sacha-Ujczo, drove all the way from Orlando to come see her horse perform.
Von Martels’ prizes included a custom Quantum Saddle, presented by Quantum Limited’s North American Representative Ted Rekal-Nuttall, 500 dollars cash, and VIP passes to the table service sponsorship tent. All competitors received a rider care package from The Wellington Institute, an American Express Gift Card donated by Jill Hoag of Keyes Company and a bundle of organic carrots for their horses.
Wellington, FL – February 6, 2011 – The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) concluded its fourth week of competition on Sunday afternoon with the $78,000 Adequan Grand Prix, CSI 2* held in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. In a talent packed class, Laura Kraut (USA) and Happy Hill Farm’s Cedric jumped to victory over 48 starters.
This week’s course designer in the International Arena was Richard Jeffery of Great Britain. At the halfway point in the class, nine had jumped clear over the first round course. Seven more clear rounds followed to leave 16 horse and rider combinations to jump-off. The countries of the United States, Mexico, Great Britain, Ireland and Canada were all represented in today’s jump-off, but the United States reigned supreme as Olympic gold medalists Laura Kraut and Cedric took the win.
Of the 16 entries in the jump-off, just two were able to clear the course. Nick Skelton (GBR) and Unique, owned by Beverly Widdowson, were first to jump clear and clocked in at 51.02 seconds to finish in second place. Kraut and Cedric went last, and stopped the clock in 45.11 seconds for the win.
Ashlee Bond and Chivas Z Find Key to Win the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic
Wellington, FL – February 5, 2011 – The women have dominated the Nespresso Battle of the Sexes for three years now with another exciting win in Saturday evening’s dynamic competition. The women’s team, captained by Katie Prudent, and including riders Georgina Bloomberg, Ashlee Bond, Brianne Goutal, Lauren Hough, Maggie Jayne, Reed Kessler, Candice King, Laura Kraut, Christine McCrea, Catherine Pasmore, and Nicole Simpson, swept the three phase competition with 37 points over the men’s score of 25 to win their third title.
The evening’s attendance was approximately 6,500 people for the class at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo stated, “This was a great event and we’re very thankful to the riders and their owners for supporting this class with their time and their horses. Special classes like this really grow our spectator base, which is one of our biggest goals at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival.”
