Horse Health Clinic with Regan Golob

Horse Health Clinic with Regan Golob
Saturday, June 4 · 8:30am - 11:30am
High Star Ranch
970 N State Rd. 32, Kamas, UT 84036

What is your horse trying to tell you?

Have you found yourself wondering who can help solve your challenges with horses? The answer can be found in this informative two day seminar. This class takes the guesswork and practice out of what to feed, teaches you to locate the lameness, and assists you to pinpoint the solutions for optimum health and performance!

AT THIS SEMINAR YOU WILL LEARN:
• Nutritional Reflex Points -- how to test your horse for any supplement, feed or deficiency!
• A Parasite Reflex Point -- does your horse need deworming, how often and with what?
• Why your horse probably has a rib out of place -- what common practice displaces it, and
how to fix it, regaining full performance!
• How acupuncture meridians in your horse’s feet affect performance, and ways to stimulate
these meridians for optimum performance!
• How to eliminate energy blocks that create musculo-skeletal and nervous system problems!
• Common Feeding Mistakes that hinder top performance!

You are guaranteed to come away from this seminar with major breakthrough information that will enable you to have a whole new relationship with your horses

Time: 8:30 registration, 9:00 am -4:30 pm Friday 9:00am-12 noon Sat.
$79 if paid before May 4. $89 after. Horse evaluations-Additional $60 during seminar as demo horse ( limit 5 )
Private horse/human evaluations that weekend $65


RSVP: for flyer and additional information
Marlo@vivenziodressage.com
801-801-918-9715
Seminar with Regan Golob
and Judy Sinner

Louisiana’s Zydeco Trail

photo:The Pineywoods Trail Ride, held in Beaver, La., last Labor Day weekend, is one of a circuit of zydeco trail rides that take place in Cajun country around Lafayette, La., and in parts of Texas.
New York Times
By SHAILA DEWAN
Published: April 22, 2011

I HAD never noticed how closely the syncopated rhythm of zydeco music echoes the rollicking stumble of horses on rough terrain. But on a September afternoon in the piney woods of Evangeline Parish, in Louisiana’s Cajun country, with hundreds of dusty horseback riders moving down a narrow trail, the kinship was impossible to miss. As the horses followed a tractor towing a D.J. and a zydeco-blaring sound system, they bucked and swayed in a cadence fit for the barroom floors of Lafayette, 70 miles away.

Eventually the riders — young and old, encumbered by cold beers or small children — reached a large clearing in the middle of the woods, which quickly filled with horses, flatbeds, wagons and buggies as the music continued to throb. People sold barbecue sandwiches and turkey legs from the backs of pick-up trucks. A group of women piled out of a wagon and serenely performed a line dance in the dust. Young people sang and flirted and held up their beers with a “Wooo!”

The clearing was the halfway point of the Pineywoods Trail Ride, one of a circuit of zydeco trail rides that take place in the countryside around Lafayette and in many parts of Texas from Mardi Gras through early December. Exuberant, untouched by corporate sponsors and run by a close-knit network of people who price their beer at $2 a can, the rides are a traditional way to celebrate the cowboy culture of rural blacks or Creoles (commonly understood as a mixture of black with French, Spanish and/or Native American ancestry).

Originally small affairs among relatives and neighbors, the rides have evolved over decades into organized events with a dedicated following, though they have remained largely unknown to outsiders. In recent years, trail rides have surged in popularity among rural youth, as zydeco musicians have incorporated strains of R&B and hip-hop, attracting a new generation for whom Creole is suddenly cool.

The Pineywoods ride, for which more than 2,000 people gathered over the course of three days, started and ended on a farm with an open-sided pavilion that, by the end, would be in a sorry shambles — its benches broken from the weight of people climbing up to get a look at the musicians, an industrial-size Dumpster outside overflowing with the detritus of revelry. It would be a huge, weird, miles-from-nowhere party, one that I had fantasized about for nearly five years.

IN July 2006, when my friend Lisa D’Amour and I embarked on a long, music-seeking weekend with Lafayette as our base, all we knew about zydeco trail rides had been gleaned from an endearingly amateurish Louisiana music fan site: they existed, they took place regularly on Sundays somewhere in the area and to find one, you might try listening to the local Cajun radio program. There was no mention of the fact that the program was in French.

Neither a more extensive Internet search nor the local newspapers got us any further. But the more elusive zydeco trail rides seemed, the more important it became to find one, even if it meant wasting an entire day.

We began our search with an inquiry at Prejean’s, a Cajun restaurant in Lafayette with a stuffed alligator in the entryway and a Webcam that provides worldwide access to views of tourists enjoying shrimp sassafras. Stupid questions are not a rarity at Prejean’s, but our waiter was stumped. Finally, he suggested we take a half-hour drive to Lawtell, the home of iconic zydeco clubs like the Offshore Lounge.

Lafayette is a small city, and you don’t have to go far in any direction before things turn very country, as in gas-station boudin and music venues that are open only on Saturday mornings. Travel south or east, and you will soon see signs for swamp tours; go north, toward Lawtell and Opelousas, and it’s scrub, forest and farms. We knew we had arrived when we saw a hand-painted sign: “Welcome to Lawtell, Home of the Town and Country Riders.” We found an old store that sold bait and rusty key chains, but when we mentioned trail rides, the white man behind the counter gave us a blank look.

At another gas station, a black cashier was more helpful, pointing us to an inebriated man buying a Sunday morning case of beer, who kindly led us to a large shade tree where a man was shoeing a horse. Several other men were hanging around, one of whom wore a rodeo championship belt buckle as big as a chicken-fried steak. Lisa and I looked at each other and grinned.

These men, we soon learned, were not the Lawtell Town and Country Riders, now defunct, but a different club, the Lawtell Low Riders. And yes, they could take us to a trail ride.

The riding clubs, we came to understand, are a fixture of life in Acadiana, the part of southern Louisiana named for the exiled French Canadians who settled it. Here, even Mardi Gras is traditionally celebrated on horseback; the riders are masked. The clubs are a formalization of the loose confederacies that developed among rural African-Americans out of kinship, friendship or necessity. The rides themselves have their roots in country traditions like boucheries, or hog butcherings.

Nowadays the clubs form the organizational core of the zydeco trail rides, competing to attract the most riders and hire the best bands and D.J.’s. Die-hard riders will bring their horses out every weekend, even if it means towing them across state lines, but most rides remain obscure to outsiders. Even a popular one like the Step-N-Strut, held in St. Landry Parish in early November, which has evolved into a multiday music festival that attracts thousands of people, is still not well known outside the circuit.

The clubs strive to set their rides apart — Pineywoods, for example, is known for using an actual trail instead of backcountry roads. But they do have certain things in common: each begins and ends at a church, community center or private parcel of land, sometimes with a pavilion built for dancing.

Our new friend the horseshoe man, whose name was Paul Young, disappeared for a good while and returned with his family (son Paul and daughter Paula) and a trailer full of horses. First we followed him in one direction, seeing nothing but farmland and fishing holes. Then he turned around and went the other direction for an even longer ride. Later it was explained that he had changed plans after learning that the first ride had been canceled, but the detour gave Lisa and me ample time to consider what we were doing: following a bunch of men we had just met across two parishes to the middle of nowhere. Just as a sense of doom was sinking in, we pulled off onto a dirt road, passed a chicken coop and saw three runaway horses with men in pursuit. A guy stationed at the gate collected $5 a head as we passed.

The trail ride had already begun, so there was a scramble to saddle up the horses. Soon, we were headed down a country road at a fast clip. It was hot, and someone reached into a saddlebag and handed me a Coors Light, which bubbled over and spattered on the ground as I tried to drink and ride one-handed. (Note: saddles are not equipped with cup holders.)

Soon we caught up to the other riders: at least a couple hundred people on horseback; a horse-drawn buggy with red wheels and black tufted upholstery; and a wagon or two loaded up with coolers and people. (One flatbed trailer carried a portable toilet.) In the middle of it all was an old, slowly coasting yellow and white truck with a rabbit painted on the side, outfitted front and back with speakers, out of which issued the familiar canter of zydeco. Lisa and I were as awed as if we had unwittingly stumbled across Burning Man while trekking in the Black Rock Desert.

We had spent the previous two days hearing music in the area, and had begun to grasp the differences between the two kinds of music that are essential to the identity of Acadiana. Cajun music, a mournful back porch music of waltzes and fiddles, is still largely the province of white musicians. Zydeco, a more upbeat, catchy genre, is played mostly by blacks. It uses the accordion and washboard, more often called a scrub-board, and went mainstream in the mid-1980s with the help of the hit song “My Toot Toot” and the Dennis Quaid movie “The Big Easy.”

Perhaps because of the movie, many people associate zydeco with New Orleans. But zydeco is country music, created by Creole cowboys. The zydeco rides in Texas are a direct result of pollination by Louisiana Creoles, who went there to do seasonal farm work and brought the music along.

Much later, as my interest in trail rides grew keener, I called the owner of the yellow truck, Frank Malbrough Jr., at his home in Church Point, La. (he was watching a home video of a trail ride when the phone rang). Mr. Malbrough, 79, is known as the Breadman because of his truck’s former service at a Bunny Bread bakery. He claims to have attended a ride every weekend of the season since 1985.

“Trail rides used to be a neighbor thing,” he said. “I got a horse, you got a horse — these guys worked on horseback in the rice harvesting. They started mixing with that horse on Sundays, then they would meet and ride in the woods and have a good time. Trail riding became a family affair.”

There is no telling, according to this history, when the first zydeco trail ride officially occurred. But the rides ended, as they do now, in music and dancing, at a church or on someone’s porch. The Breadman takes credit for the innovation of bringing the music along on the ride itself, first with a borrowed boombox and later with the Bread Truck, purchased in the mid-1980s.

After several hours of following the Bread Truck, we all returned to the farm where we started. Under the shelter of what seemed like a picnic pavilion at a public park, a zydeco band played through a late afternoon rainstorm, and everybody danced. The ride, and all that went with it, encapsulated everything we loved about Louisiana, whose most inviolable traditions are built around enjoyment and leisure; where proud strangers will lend you a horse and hand you a cold beer not because they have a reputation of hospitality to uphold but because it would be a blot on their honor if you did not have fun; and where things coalesce not because of anything you or I might recognize as organization, but according to their own internal logic. With a little luck we had been welcomed into an afternoon of unmediated Creole culture. This was the side of Louisiana that anthropologists love to study, but I love to visit.

JOE FONTENOT, 65, was famous in his youth for riding a pet bull. He can remember capturing wild horses by dropping from a tree onto their backs. On his farm, he raises horses, naked-neck chickens and the guinea hens he says make for better gumbo.

Driving from Lafayette late on a Friday evening last September, I found the Fontenot farm by following cardboard signs that pointed the way. Ever since that first ride, I had wanted to attend another, but had not really known where to start. When I Googled “zydeco trail ride,” I found a forum whose most recent post was two years old, some YouTube videos of trail rides past and a 1989 album by Boozoo Chavis, the zydeco star. Frustrating as it may be to interested outsiders, riding clubs still rely primarily on a tried-and-true advertising method: distributing fliers to trail riders at trail rides.

I made some calls and finally got in touch with Torry Lemelle, who runs the Step-N-Strut and whose husband, Dave, is the president of Border2Border, one of two main Louisiana riding club associations. She told me that the Pineywoods ride, held in Beaver, La., on Labor Day weekend, had been run by the Fontenot family for 25 years, and gave me a number to call. Ultimately this led me to the farm’s gate, where I leaned out my car window and paid $20 for a weekend pass.

I had been delayed by a hurricane on the East Coast, so spent part of the evening nursing my disappointment that I had missed the free supper of cochon de lait — marinated suckling pig that had roasted all day in a metal box, or a “Cajun microwave,” as the Fontenots call it.

At first, the feel was a lot like that of the 2006 ride — the farm, the dance pavilion (where at least seven varieties of Boone’s Farm wine were on offer), the RVs and horse trailers lining the grounds in a vast encampment. There would be live bands all three nights, and I watched as the serious dancers took advantage of the one night when the floor would not be overcrowded. A determined young woman chomped her gum in time to JoJo Reed and the Happy Hill Band as she and her partner covered great swaths of dance floor, never pausing for breath.

On Saturday morning, adults hunched over domino games or tended to the ribs, gumbo or backbone stew they were cooking at their campsites, while children played and rode bareback. But as cars and campers steadily poured into the grounds, an influx that would continue right up to the start of the main trail ride on Sunday, the place took on a different feel. At my first ride, I had noticed a lot of old-timers — “originals,” they call themselves — wearing, as Joe Fontenot did, pressed Western shirts and string ties.

But at the Pineywoods ride, as more and more young people crowded the grounds, I noticed cargo shorts and rubber-soled boots with brightly colored uppers, some with an accumulation of paper wristbands from previous rides threaded through the pull straps in a display of trail ride status.

Virtually everyone wore T-shirts proclaiming their allegiance to a particular riding club: the No Limit Riders of Mamou, La., the Spare Time Riders of New Roads, the Hip Hop Ghetto Riders of Breaux Bridge. Some clubs, like the Exclusive Steppers, showed loyalty to a particular kind of mount, the high-stepping Tennessee walker, considered the Cadillac of trail riding (“If you ain’t steppin’, you ain’t reppin’ ”). Others, like the Wild Bird Riders, honored their favorite whiskey, while the Suga Riders were named in memory of “one of the realest cowboys you would ever get to know,” a Lafayette man who rode his horse to nightclubs. The Mixed Breed Riders, a youthful posse in short-shorts and tank tops, gave a nod to the racial mélange so common in Acadiana. I counted upward of 50 riding clubs, though a few of them didn’t seem to bother with actual horses.

I also heard, between bands, the D.J.’s play something I hadn’t heard at the earlier ride: the occasional hip-hop track (Lil Boosie, a Baton Rouge rapper, was a favorite). In fact, several attendees credited the surge in popularity of the rides to zydeco musicians like Brian Jack and Chris Ardoin, who have given the music a more contemporary feel. On Saturday night, Brian Jack would pack the pavilion, getting a loud cheer when he asked, “How many cowgirls you got out there?”

I met Arloe Fontenot, a 32-year-old member of the extended Fontenot clan, whose members, many of whom have green eyes, range in appearance from fair to dark. “When we were young, we fell into a middle ground in terms of race,” Arloe said. He added, good-naturedly, “Now everyone wants to be Creole, meaning everyone wants to have some freaking boots on and play zydeco in their car and go to one trail ride and call themselves Creole.” This yearning apparently applies to whites as well — I noticed a more racially diverse crowd than I had in 2006, when Lisa and I were the only nonblacks in attendance.

Daphne Rideaux, a 22-year-old member of the Mixed Breed Riders, told me that all any newcomer needs is “the boots, the belt, the spurs and the trail rider shirt,” adding, “They can make their own.” (Park Slope Steppers, are you reppin’?)

From a food truck, I bought a dozen tamales, made by Mr. Fontenot’s sister-in-law and served with saltine crackers and hot sauce, for $8. As I strolled the grounds, I met mail carriers and pipe fitters, a man called Mule who made extra money shoeing horses, and a bank teller named Angela Deculus, who patiently taught me the basic zydeco dance step. Zydeco dancers swear this step is all you need to know, but I have learned it countless times, only to be boot-scooted right off the floor. Figuring out what people are doing with their feet when they zydeco is like trying to determine whether all of a horse’s hooves leave the ground as it gallops.

But I still love to watch, especially the people who grew up dancing in this music-steeped culture. The older couples meld as if they had been specially machined to perform in unison; the younger couples clasp hands as they move one way, only to drop them on the return with inimitable insouciance. You can almost see the church halls, the linoleum floors, the lessons from grandpa, the generations that precede each particular dance — see the music moving through the blood. These dancers zydeco the way they sit a horse.

On Saturday afternoon, there was a “mini-ride,” or what Mr. Fontenot called a “vice-versa ride” because it follows the route of the big Sunday ride in reverse.

It was quieter than the Sunday ride would be, and together several hundred of us passed through woods filled with bright purple beautyberries. The temperature hovered at an amazingly cool 80 degrees. Mr. Fontenot no longer rides, but his grandson Casey, then 9, took the lead position, slung across his horse at a jaunty tilt, just as if he had been born up there and it had never occurred to him to get down.

SADDLE UP AND PASS THE BOUDIN

FINDING A TRAIL RIDE

Zydeco trail rides take place primarily in Louisiana and Texas.

Two of the biggest zydeco trail ride associations in Louisiana, which serve as umbrella groups for the clubs, are the Border2Border Trail Ride Association and the Rainbow Trail Ride Association, both of which include Texas rides on their calendars.

Their 2011 schedules are posted at billpickettrailriders.com and marcsobers.com. There are a lot of T.B.A.’s on those schedules, but I found updated information for rides in the next couple of months at zydecoevents.com/trailriders.

In Louisiana, the ride itself is held on Sunday; in Texas, it is often on Saturday with a rodeo on Sunday (and Louisiana folk will tell you that the food is not as good). If you do not have a horse, you can ride on a wagon; often at least one of these belongs to the ride organizers. Let them know you are a first-timer.

SLEEPING AND EATING

To camp at a trail ride, you will likely need a camper or RV — there are generally no facilities for tent camping. Otherwise, you can find a hotel close to your chosen ride’s location; there are accommodations in Opelousas, Eunice, Ville Platte and Breaux Bridge (where the Café des Amis is known for its zydeco brunch on Saturdays). Lafayette is a good base from which to explore the trail riding scene, but expect to drive an hour or more to get to one from there.

In Lafayette the Blue Moon Saloon (215 East Convent Street; 877-766-2583; bluemoonpresents.com), has a guest house catering to music lovers. Rooms start at $70; “dorm” rooms that sleep up to eight are $18 a person.

Prejean’s (3480 Northeast Evangeline Thruway; 337-896-3247; prejeans.com), is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner,

Ask the locals which gas station has the best boudin.

Desperado V turns 25

April 21 2011

Join Varian Arabians for the celebration of the 25th birthday of
Desperado V (Huckleberry Bey++ x Daraska) and the annual Spring Fling, on April 30-May 1, 2011.

Desperado V is a living legend in the Arabian world. Sired by legendary Huckleberry Bey++, Desperado has proudly carried on the incredible style and traditions that have made Varian Arabians so successful.

Desperado V, foaled 2/26/1986, is tall (15.1 1/2 hands), dark and extremely handsome and he sires it! His exotic head is well known, but most of all, he has proven his ability to sire National Champions in both Halter and Performance. He carries a high set tail, beautiful eyes and emotes Arabian charisma. His disposition and trainability are transmitted to his offspring and are easily verified by contacting any trainer working with a Desperado V youngster. "Show quality" and "marketability" of Desperado V foals are well documented. Desperado V has been the leading sire on five of the AHRA stud books and he is a Sire of Significance.

Sire:
 Desperado V's sire line is four generations strong of Varian breeding. All, including Desperado V himself, have been Sires of Significance. Huckleberry Bey++, Desperado V's sire, has been a leading sire for years and now his sons have taken over the leading sire spot. Desperado V's sire line brings to him both beauty and athletic ability. Most notable is his ability to "breed on" his own unique look.

Dam
Desperado V's dam, Daraska, is a most exotic granddaughter of both *Bask and Comet, with a tail female line containing the legendary Mekeel mares to the aristocrat "Ghazna".

For a schedule of events or to register online, see http://www.varianarabians.com/events.asp

Western States Trail April 30th Work Day Reminder

April 18 2010

New Federal Agency Volunteer Form Requirement!

Please follow the link below

With the storms of March behind us, it's time to hit the trail to clear fallen trees and improve sections eroded from heavy rain and low snow. With the run and ride quickly approaching, there is plenty of work to do!

Our work now takes us to sections of the trail located on U.S. government land. The United States Forest Service has instituted a new policy requiring every volunteer to fill out a form and send it to the agency for approval. As time is running short, please go to http://ws100.com/projects.htm#fedform to access the form, follow the instructions and send immediately. We've tried to make this as painless and efficient as possible. It is very important that you send this form before you volunteer!

We can still use more help, so join us if you can. If you haven't responded, please do so at trails@ws100.com. As we'll be meeting 18 miles east of Auburn in Foresthill, please note the 8:30 am start time to give you a little extra time to arrive. The meeting place is Foresthill Joe's Coffee Shop (directions below.)

It's too soon to predict the weather but come prepared for variable temps. Please remember to bring water, snacks and gloves. Tools will be available but bring your own loppers or handsaw if you'd like.

We'll wrap up at about 1:30 PM and regroup for lunch.

This will be the final update unless a cancellation is necessary due to weather. We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, April 30.


Donn Zea
WS Trail Manager


Mike Shackelford
Tevis Trail Manager

She’s in it for the long haul

Agweek.com - Full Article

April 15 2011
By: Patrick Springer, INFORUM

Wadena, Minn. - You could say that Angie Mikkelson loves to ride horses. But it would be more precise to say she loves to ride horses for hours and hours, miles and miles.

As a child, a congenital heart defect meant she couldn’t be as active in sports as she would have liked.

But her godparents introduced her to the joy of riding horses. “I’ve been riding,” she says, “ever since I remember.”

Later, a neighbor initiated her into the stay-in-the-saddle world of endurance riding.

In the 20 years since, she’s ridden more than 3,000 miles in endurance riding competitions. Distances vary from 25 miles to 50 miles on up to 100 miles.

Some might regard those marathon rides as a recipe for acute saddle soreness, but Mikkelson, 36, finds them a pleasurable way to experience the great outdoors from the back of a good horse...

Read more here:
http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/315942/publisher_ID/1/

Houston to host major national equestrian event

Bixbybulletin.com - Full article

Tue Apr 12, 2011

Staff Reports Bixby Bulletin

HOUSTON, (GHHC) - Endurance riders from across the nation will bring their mounts to George Bush Intercontinental Airport May 14-15 for six rides to benefit St. Jude's Research Hospital. As an introductory for endurance rider wanabes, a 10 mile Fun Ride is for those that would like to find out more about the sport of Endurance or just get out and enjoy the beautiful airport trails, or explore becoming an AIRPORT RANGER, and be part of the "SADDLE UP" FOR ST. JUDE!.

Serious competitors will experience the thrill of daily 25 and 50 mile rides around the busy airport as passengers on jumbo jets from around the globe get a firsthand taste of Texas horsemanship as they land.

Houston has become a benchmark for distance running with the Houston Marathon which attracts runners from across the globe. Because of the setting at a major international airport, the Houston equine event could become another major sports venue for the Bayou City.

Endurance riding is an athletic event for both horse and rider. The goal is to complete the marked trail within the time given with a horse that is fit to continue. Rain or shine the ride goes on. All horses must pass a complete vet check before, during and after the ride. Because of the demands made on horse and rider, to finish is to win.

The general public will enjoy observation areas at the airport administration building on JFK, the Houston Fire Department Airport Substation at Will Clayton Parkway and Lee Road, Aircraft Viewing Area, on Lee Road, and the North Trailhead on FM 1060 East (watch for the signs) where the start/finish line is located.

Sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference

FOR ENTRY FORM OR MORE INFORMATION: http://aerc.org/Calendar/2011AirportExpress.pdf

Sponsors: Greater Houston Horse Council, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, City of Houston, Horseback Magazine, Texas Endurance Ride Association

April Update: 2011 Adequan FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships

USEF.org

April Update: What's Happening at the 2011 Adequan FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North?

Release: April 11 2011
Author: Joanie Morris
rider

Lexington, KY - Less than four months before the Opening Ceremonies for the 2011 Championships and planning is already well underway. With the addition of Endurance, we will be utilizing a new part of the Kentucky Horse Park, the Endurance Base Camp will set up on Walt Robertson Way, across from the Secretariat Center. The rest of the venue is looking really good, having benefited from the overhaul which corresponded with last fall's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Schedule:
The Tentative Competition Schedule for competitors is available here: http://www.youngriders.org/Schedule.aspx and as soon as the Draft Schedules get approved by the FEI they will be posted.

Resources/FAQ:
There is also a Chef's Manual and other useful information posted on the website, please reference the Team Resources page for more information: http://www.youngriders.org/FAQ.aspx.

Qualifying is of course well underway for most disciplines, it's a good time to make sure all your FEI numbers are up-to-date and your passport is valid, the Chef's Manual has some guidelines and information regarding these things.

Discipline Directors here at the USEF will be able to answer technical questions you may have regarding in selection and qualifying:

Dressage: Jenny van Wieren or Jeannie Putney jvanwieren@usef.org or jputney@usef.org.
Eventing: Shealagh Costello scostello@usef.org.
Jumping: Jennifer Haydon is on maternity leave so please contact Kate Black at kblack@usef.org in the interim with your questions.
Reining and Endurance: Vonita Bowers at vbowers@usef.org.

Hospitality:
If you would like a private table in the Kentucky Club, reserve one early! This means you will have a shady, dry spot to watch all the action in Rolex Stadium. The order form is on this page, and Helen Murray can help answer questions. She can be reached at Helen Murray hmurray@usef.org.

Hotels, Camping, etc:
The Marriott Griffin Gate is the Official Hotel of NAJYRC, book with them and you will have a lovely place to stay right near the Kentucky Horse Park, they will be happy to hear from you: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lexky-griffin-gate-marriott-resort-and-spa/ there is also a spa in case you have a long trip! Of course, there is always camping available here at the Kentucky Horse Park, contact Christy at the Campground Store, they can book your space for you, and they're holding some for this event so book early! Phone: 859-259-4857 Website: http://www.kyhorsepark.com/camping-in-the-park

Sponsors:
We are thrilled to have our title and presenting sponsors: Adequan and Gotham North returning with their unwavering support for the program.

Divisional sponsors remain unchanged too (we are still working on a sponsor for our newest discipline, Endurance):
Dressage: Platinum Performance/USDF
Eventing: US Eventing Association
Jumping: US Hunter Jumper Association
Reining: Smart Pak

The Canadian Federation continues to pledge their support, along with numerous sponsors and donors who continue to help make this incredible program possible. Opportunities to get involved are available; please contact Scott Carling at scarling@usef.org for more information.

Vendors:
We have moved the stabling across the road from the Rolex Stadium so the vicinity to the vendors will be much better. We know that convenience rules, so with the new location of the stables, our vendors have the best accessibility on the venue. Our vendors will be steps away from the stabling, directly across from the Kentucky Club Hospitality Tent. Don't miss an opportunity to bring your products to a young, dynamic consumer group. Vendor information is available on the website: http://www.youngriders.org/documents/forms/NAJYRC_Vendor_Form.pdf

Program:
If you would like to advertise in the program, please contact Kim Russell (krussell@usef.org) - good luck ads, thank you's as well as standard advertisements are all welcome - this is a great souvenir from the event, and every rider, along with spectators, sponsors, officials and staff get one and most hang on to them for a long time. More than just a one-week shot at exposure - these programs are kept for years as everyone involved with the event holds on to them.

Don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook, we love friends and the more people that know about this program, the better. We're on Twitter too, so you can follow us there.

Saddlebreds Continue to Excel in Distance Riding Competitions

USEF.org

Release: April 08 2011
Author: ASHA news

Lexington, KY - Two American Saddlebreds, All The Money (affectionately known as Cash) and Far Field Hustle Time, continue to beat out their Arabian competitors in 25-mile Limited Distance (LD) competitions.

Most recently, at the Bar H/True Grit ride in Perris, CA, Cash took first place, with Hustle Time taking second. The ride was 25 miles, and both horses came in approximately 10 minutes ahead of the third place finisher. Both horses have been competing in LD for the past year, and nearly always come in the top 10; both have come in first, and Cash has two “Best Condition” honors under his saddle.

How did they begin their careers? All The Money was the 1998 World’s Champion weanling who went on to be the Western States Horse Expo Breed Ambassador. Carlos and Lisa Siderman purchased him from Barbara Molland in 2005, to ride trails, and got him into the Parelli program, in which he is a Level 3.

Far Field Hustle Time was trained in saddleseat but never took to it. The Sidermans purchased him in 2004, also as a trail horse. Lisa Siderman was interested in competing, so after reading about Wing Tempo, the American Saddlebred that held the record for the most North American Trail Riding Conference (NATRC) Competitive Trail (CT) miles, she entered the “boys” in their first competition, the Bonelli Park Ride.

The two did well, both placing in the top 4. Cash placed first on their second ride (which was sponsored by the Arabian Horse Association!). A CT ride is either 25 or 35 miles long, and is a pace, not a race. Competitors may not finish the 25-mile ride before 5.5 hours, or later than 6 hours, without incurring a penalty. Lisa and Carlos found they were holding their horses back, so they entered them in their first American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) 25-mile LD race. LD is an endurance race of less than 50 miles. The two placed 34 and 35 out of 101 riders, and Cash took Best Condition over all other competitors – with a perfect vet card.

They finished in a little over 4 hours. Carlos was holding Hustle Time back the whole time and decided that in the next race, to let him go. The result was a first place finish for Hustle Time, with Cash finishing just two spots behind, in third, and once again earning Best Condition. Both finished in under 3.5 hours.

Saddlebreds are well suited for distance riding, with their long strides, large hearts, thin skin and lean muscles. To condition for a 25-mile CT or LD, it is important that a horse is ridden several times a week at long, slow trots. Once they are in shape, it is important that they not be overtrained. Some hill work is also beneficial, but the main goal is to get their muscles stretched and lean, and their aerobic capacity up. Using a heart rate monitor is very useful for training.

Lisa Siderman is happy to answer any questions about how to get your Saddlebred into CT or LD riding (saddllp@gmail.com). And don't forget, the American Saddlebred Horse Association is offering two new programs to reward sport horses, the year-end High Points program and the Sporthorse awards program, in which both NATRC and AERC rides are included.

One Hour that will Change How You Deworm Forever

Do you know if your deworming program is effective? Tune in to RFD-TV on Monday, April 11, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time for "The Deworming Revolution: What You Need to Know Now," a one-hour show that discusses the increasing problem of parasite resistance and how you may need to change your deworming program. Topics include a parasite overview, the importance of fecal egg counts and how to deworm with a strategy.

The show is sponsored by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and includes equine veterinarians, Wendy Vaala, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM and Laird Laurence DVM, to answer your LIVE call-in questions.

Watch "The Deworming Revolution: What You Need to Know Now" LIVE on RFD-TV.

Equine Dynamics Clinic

Karenshorsetails Blog - Karen Bumgarner

April 4 2011

The first ever Equine Dynamics Clinic was held April 2 & 3, 2011 near Parma, ID., featuring Naomi Preston and myself, Karen Bumgarner. It was the result of, "Hey Naomi, you do the TTeam and I do the horse massage, I know they are different but yet they complement one another. What do you think of us doing a clinic?" She loved the idea, and it grew from there with an added day of "Connected Riding" techniques which she had learned from Peggy Cummings.

I had studied Equine Sports Massage from Equissage and Mary Schrieber, following Jack Meaghers proven methods. Along with techniques I had learned as a kid around racehorses and attending other clinics.

Naomi Preston has studied the Linda Tellington Jones' Tellington Touch, which stimulates sensory and helps the horse to accept training, become more focused and also aids healing. Naomi has many success stories she shared with us.

In my mind "dynamics" was a perfect part of the title of the clinic. The definition of dynamics is "pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action". And by the end of the weekend all could see it truly fit. The many ideas rolled together were truly enlightening and energizing. Our riding will be more in harmony to the horse, and his body will be better prepared for competition. I cannot begin to put it all into a blog. So much information! This is just a morsel of what was presented...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2011/04/equine-dynamics-clinic.html

Bellvue women enjoy endurance riding, competition

image by Paschal Karl

Northfortynews.com - full article

By Marty Metzger
North Forty News

Endurance is defined as the ability to withstand hardship or stress and synonymous with courage, persistence and fortitude. The sport of competitive endurance riding adds speed and strategy.

Popular worldwide, the equestrian racing activity might trace its roots to the Pony Express of the 1860s or even back thousands of years to Arabian desert survival matches. But nowadays, necessity is supplanted by athletic competition and just plain fun.

Northern Colorado enthusiasts of the spirited sport include Jan Bright, DVM, and Suzie Barbour, RN, both of Bellvue. Though dedicated competitors, they also train together.

Fifty-three-year-old Barbour, who's ridden since age 6, ran in marathons after her children were born. When they were grown, she again bought a horse and tried dressage. But the trails called loudly – ring riding just wasn't for her.

Fifteen years ago, she switched to endurance riding and hasn't looked back since ...

Read more here:
http://www.northfortynews.com/News/201104photo_HA_19_enduranceRidingBellvue.htm