Tag Archives: equitation

Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center Prepares for Special Olympic State Equestrian Games

Thomas Mickel represented Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center aboard Belle in a Western Equitation class with the help of volunteer Jamie Miller during the Special Olympic Area Equestrian Games. Photo Courtesy of VTRC

 Loxahatchee, FL – May 18, 2010 – Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center (VTRC) is currently preparing to participate in the Special Olympic State Equestrian Games, which will be held May 21-22, 2010, in Tampa, Florida. Sixteen riders qualified for the Games after competing at the Area level March 27, 2010, in Ft. Pierce, FL.

During the Special Olympic State Equestrian Games riders will have the opportunity to compete in English and western equitation, trail ride competition, dressage, and pole bending. The riders representing VTRC range from needing full support with a leader and two sidewalks to independent riders who walk, trot, and canter on their own. They also have several riders competing in the training level dressage tests.

The qualified riders have been working on dressage test, equitation skills, pole bending, and barrel racing to prepare for the exciting competition. In addition to the 12 students traveling to the Games, six horses and 17 volunteers will be in Tampa for the event to support VTRC.

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ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Win Goes to Michael Murphy at Tournament of Champions

ASPCA Maclay winner Michael Murphy on Winnetou (Owner Elizabeth Patz) Tournament of Champions at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center. Photo © 2010 Lindsay Y McCall/PMG.
ASPCA Maclay winner Michael Murphy on Winnetou (Owner Elizabeth Patz) Tournament of Champions at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center. Photo © 2010 Lindsay Y McCall/PMG.

Tampa, FL – April 8, 2010 – Riders brought forth their finest efforts in the equitation classes at the Tampa Equestrian Festival’s Tournament of Champions held at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Earning the top accolade in the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship class was Michael Murphy aboard Winnetou. Testing Robert McCune’s equitation course to first place in the Pessoa USEF Hunt Seat Medal was Shawn Casady riding Eastwood.

These outstanding riders exchanged placings in the equitation classes when Murphy won the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship, while Casady rode into second place. Then, Casady earned the blue ribbon in the Pessoa USEF Hunt Seat Medal class and Murphy took home the second place prize.

Murphy has been riding Winnetou for approximately two weeks, since his prior equitation horse had sold. Elizabeth Patz, who also shows at Murphy family’s facility, owns Winnetou. “I am still figuring this horse out a little bit,” remarked Murphy. “He sometimes gets a little bunched up and compressed so I try to allow him to be soft. He is definitely learning to open up and not stay so tight.”

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Let’s Dance – Classic Company to Debut Musical Freestyle Hunt Seat Equitation Championship

Olivia Hostetter and Cinzano ©Flashpoint Photography
Olivia Hostetter and Cinzano ©Flashpoint Photography

Conyers, GA — March 31, 2010 — Classic Company’s president Bob Bell announced the first ever Musical Freestyle Hunt Seat Equitation Championship will premiere at the upcoming Atlanta Summer Classics, June 16-27, in the former Olympic Grand Prix arena of the Georgia International Horse Park.

The idea came to Bell while outside a schooling ring on an off day of his show, sitting in a golf cart chatting on his phone the sound of a nearby stereo drifted over causing his attention to shift towards the horse and rider working over the fences to the beat of the music playing. “I saw the look of pure enjoyment on the rider’s face. Both horse and rider were having a great time with the music as a backdrop to their workout, so it started me on a quest to recreate that fun in our class offerings,” Bell mused.

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