Category Archives: *Featured/Spotlights

Special features, spotlights, headlines

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Phelps Media Group

Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC, Hosts SPEAKS Program at the Kentucky Horse Park

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Lexington, KY – June 2, 2010 – On Friday, May 21, 2010, third graders from Simmons Elementary School in Woodford County, Kentucky, had a chance of a lifetime. The young children visited the spectacular Kentucky Horse Park as part of the SPEAKS program. The acronym stands for Supporting and Promoting Equine Awareness in Kentucky Schools (SPEAKS) program. The SPEAKS program is a way to take equine education to the next level. Bobby Murphy, who has been the main component of spreading the SPEAKS vision, visited Simmons Elementary School in December 2009 and found that the program can be just as effective in the classroom as it could be at the Kentucky Horse Park.  Five months later he fulfilled his promise to bring the children to the Kentucky Horse Park for this wonderful opportunity.

Representatives from Young Professionals Committee of the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA), ambassadors from Just World International, and young riders from the Kentucky Spring Classic were present to teach the children many basics about the sport and what makes horses so important in their lives. Continue reading Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC, Hosts SPEAKS Program at the Kentucky Horse Park →

*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, FEI, Phelps Media Group, Training/Clinics, World Equestrian Games

Todd Flettrich and Otto Participate in Steffen Peters Clinic

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Todd Flettrich and Otto. Photo by Ken Braddick.

Wellington, FL – May 28, 2010 – Dressage rider Todd Flettrich rode in a Steffen Peters clinic at Carol Cohen’s Two Swans Farm recently, continuing to stay at the top of his game in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Based in Coatesville, PA, and Wellington, FL, Flettrich has had a fantastic season with his mount Otto, a 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Rambo X Rampal), owned by Cherry Knoll Farm. The pair has earned several top placings throughout the country and is qualified to compete in the Selection Trials for the Games, which will determine who rides on the Team in Lexington, KY, this fall.

Flettrich spent two winters training with Steffen Peters in California earlier in his career, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to get some tips from the renowned rider during this important show season. “I think that Steffen is a super rider and trainer, and I feel that he has so much to offer to the sport,” Flettrich noted. “Steffen commented on similar things that I work on with Hubertus [Schmidt] and Oded [Shimoni], but he doesn’t see us on a regular basis, so his attention was brought right to our problems and he addressed them quickly. I rode Otto the first day in a snaffle and I rode him the next day in a double, and I thought the horse went great. Everything Steffen said was very helpful and I feel like I got so much out of working with him.”

Continue reading Todd Flettrich and Otto Participate in Steffen Peters Clinic →

*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Equestrian Assistance, Events, FEI, Training/Clinics, World Equestrian Games

John Lyons “America’s Most Trusted Horseman” Featured in the Equine Village at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

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Clinics and Demonstrations Are Part of Grounds Pass Ticket Offering

May 27, 2010 – Lexington, KY – Famed horseman John Lyons will be a featured clinician in the Equine Village during the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, September 25 – October 10, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

Widely considered to be responsible for many changes in the horse industry in the past 30 years, John Lyons has promoted both kind treatment of horses and the safety of horse and rider through hundreds of clinics, expos, symposiums, demonstrations, magazine articles, John Lyons Perfect Horse magazine, radio, and television programs.

Along with his son, Josh, Lyons has developed a certification program known throughout the world. With more than 300 professional certified trainers stationed all over the United States, and in many other countries, their training techniques have affected every horse discipline and throughout every breed.

Continue reading John Lyons “America’s Most Trusted Horseman” Featured in the Equine Village at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, FEI, Show Jumping

Meydan FEI Nations Cup 2010 – Preview Round 2, Rome

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Watch it LIVE on FEI TV – Coverage of the second leg of the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup series in Rome begins at 15.05 CEST on Friday 28th May.  Go to www.feitv.org for live coverage, event reports, highlights programmes and interviews.

FRENCH OUT IN FRONT AS MEYDAN FEI NATIONS CUP ARRIVES IN ROME

Rome, 26 May 2010 – The 2009 title-holders from France hold the lead as the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup series moves to Rome this week where the host-country makes a guest appearance on home ground. This brings the total of competing nations to 11 for the second leg of the prestigious eight-round tournament which concludes at Dublin in early August.  And it promises to raise the competitive temperature considerably, as Italy is already making a spirited come-back to the top level of team sport through good results in the Promotional League series.  Relegated at the end of the 2009 season they are fighting their way back with real determination, and a win in Athens just over a week ago has put a shot across the bows of the opponents they will face in this Friday’s top-level contest.

Continue reading Meydan FEI Nations Cup 2010 – Preview Round 2, Rome →

*Featured/Spotlights, Breeds, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, JRPR

Miniature Therapy Horse Proves She Is Magic When She Is Named AARP’s “Most Heroic Pet in America”

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Strebors Black Magic On Demand was recently named the “Most Heroic Pet in America” by the AARP. Magic has worked with over 4,000 people. (Photos courtesy of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses)

Morton, Ill. (May 24, 2010) – Strebors Black Magic On Demand, a Miniature Horse registered with the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR), is spreading a special form of magic as a therapy horse. Known to her many fans as Magic, the black mini with blue eyes was recently named the “Most Heroic Pet in America” by the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).

Magic, owned by Debbie and Jorge Garcia-Bengochea of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses in High Springs, Florida, was featured in the 2010 May/June issue of AARP Magazine for her heroic efforts as a therapy mini. “I am so proud of her,” Debbie Garcia-Bengochea said. “She has worked with over 4,000 people, but the story that helped her win the ‘Most Heroic Pet’ title has to do with a woman who hadn’t talked in three years.”

Garcia-Bengochea said that in September of 2009, a reporter from the Ocala Star-Banner newspaper was taking photos of a Gentle Carousel visit at an assisted care facility. “A woman who had not spoken since she arrived at the assisted care facility three years earlier began talking to Magic. ‘Isn’t she beautiful’ were her first words and then ‘It’s a horse’,” Garcia-Bengochea said. “The activities director began to cry and told the woman she loved her.”

Continue reading Miniature Therapy Horse Proves She Is Magic When She Is Named AARP’s “Most Heroic Pet in America” →

*Featured/Spotlights

Oklahoma Horse Trailer Accident Highlights the Need for Federal Legislative Action

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Washington, DC (May 24, 2010) – The need for federal legislation ending the slaughter of and providing safer transportation for American horses came to the forefront again last Tuesday, as we witnessed another horrific accident involving an overturned cattle trailer carrying 30 horses.

At around 6:00 am on May 18, 2010, Christopher Dobbin of Missouri fell asleep behind the wheel of a stock cattle trailer hauling horses bound for slaughter in Mexico to a temporary feedlot in Texas.  Eleven of the 30 horses died as a result of the careless and inhumane transportation methods used by Dobbin, who was issued a reckless driving citation.  This unfortunate accident underscores the desperate need for quick and thorough legislative action to end the slaughter of American horses and provide safer transportation for equines.

Continue reading Oklahoma Horse Trailer Accident Highlights the Need for Federal Legislative Action →

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Equestrian Assistance, Equine Assisted Therapy, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Products/Services, Show Jumping

Pegasus Therapeutic Riding’s Pegasus Farm Chapter Announces New Home for The Rider’s Closet

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Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Collaborates with Georgina Bloomberg's The Rider's Closet. Photo is taken of the new location of The Rider's Closet. Photo © 2010

Brewster, New York – May 18, 2010 – Pegasus Therapeutic Riding’s Pegasus Farm chapter announced today that The Rider’s Closet program, developed by Georgina Bloomberg, will now be based out of Pegasus Therapeutic Riding’s Pegasus Farm chapter in Brewster, NY. The program originated four years ago, when Bloomberg wanted to donate her lightly used show clothing to a good cause, but was not sure where to start. The Rider’s Closet began as an endeavor to provide a place where all equestrians could donate their clothing so that other riders who may not be able to purchase their own riding attire and equipment could take advantage of these otherwise expensive items that had been outgrown, but were still in good condition.

Thus far, The Rider’s Closet has already proven to be of great value to a variety of programs, including, but not limited to a number of intercollegiate riding teams.  While The Rider’s Closet has been growing, so has Bloomberg’s equestrian career. Over the last few years, the demand has risen, and with Bloomberg traveling to various equestrian competitions around the world, she wanted to move The Rider’s Closet from a home-based operation, to a new home where it could get more attention. “I’m really excited about this move,” said Bloomberg. “It is a great situation for both the Rider’s Closet and the Pegasus Therapeutic Riding program. They have a first class program, one that I’ve been really impressed with over the years. I think the move will benefit a lot of equestrians on a number of different levels.”

Continue reading Pegasus Therapeutic Riding’s Pegasus Farm Chapter Announces New Home for The Rider’s Closet →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, FEI, Para-Equestrian, Phelps Media Group, World Equestrian Games

The United States Para-Dressage Team Thanks Kentucky Equine Research for Housing before World Equestrian Games

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Kentucky Equine Research Logo. Photo © 2010 Courtesy of Client.

Thousand Oaks, CA – May 19, 2010 – The United States Para-Equestrian Association (USPEA) would like to thank Kentucky Equine Research whose offices in Versailles, KY will house the ten United States Para-Dressage Team horses prior to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.  This opportunity allows the horses a week to relax from travel before their debut at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Lexington, KY.

The USPEA is grateful to the entire Kentucky Equine Research group especially Founder and President Joe Pagan.  Hope Hand, President of the USPEA noted, “We are so thankful that Joe and the Kentucky Equine Research facility are lending their facilities to us prior to the World Equestrian Games.  The World Equestrian Games will be our first competition as the United States Para-Equestrian Team, so we want to make sure our horses are ready to perform to the best of their ability.  The Kentucky Equine Research team is an important factor in our Road to Kentucky.”

Continue reading The United States Para-Dressage Team Thanks Kentucky Equine Research for Housing before World Equestrian Games →

*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, FEI

Diagrams Published for Stewards Manual on Warm-up Techniques

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Long, deep

11 May 2010 – The new Annex (XIII) created by the Working Group that produced a revised FEI Stewards Manual on warm-up techniques for Dressage has now been completed, following the production of three diagrams to illustrate permitted positions of the horse’s head and neck during pre- and post-competition training.

One of the key stipulations in the Working Group’s report was that all unacceptable training methods and techniques must be stopped immediately. The Working Group was also insistent that abuse of the horse must be avoided and, in particular, stressing the horse, aggressive riding and inflicting pain and/or discomfort on the horse must be prevented.

Continue reading Diagrams Published for Stewards Manual on Warm-up Techniques →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

British-based Riders Hit HSBC FEI World Cup Trail

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12 May 2010 – British-based riders have their first chance to earn points in the valuable HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing series at Chatsworth (GBR) this weekend (May 15-16), and five nations are represented in the entry of 33.

Paul Tapner (AUS), fresh from his thrilling Badminton success, is two-handed with Kilfinnie ll and Tiger Flynne, and is joined by fellow Australians Bill Levett with Sea Oro and Sam Griffiths, having his first major international competition this year with Happy Times, third at Badminton and Burghley last year.

The Chatsworth CIC***-W has often proved a pointer to future international success, and Clayton Fredericks (AUS), who won this class in 2006 on Ben Along Time, is riding his smart new acquisition Bendigo lll, a German-bred horse proven in Grand Prix Dressage and Jumping which has been taking the national season by storm.

Continue reading British-based Riders Hit HSBC FEI World Cup Trail →