Thursday, December 29, 2011

AERC Election Results

December 28 2011

ELECTION RESULTS:

From the Southwest Region, Julia Lynn-Elias, DVM, and from the Northeast Region, Nick Kohut, DVM, and Patti Stedman, will be sworn in as new AERC Regional Directors at the 2012 AERC convention. Representing the Mountain region will be Susan Shomburg and Jan Stevens; in the West, Maryben Stover and Forrest Tancer; Roger Taylor will continue as the Southwest Region's other regional director. All other incumbent regional directors will be continuing on for the next two-year term.

For more information, see
http://aerc.org/

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ellen Olson and SA Belshazzar win winter FEI 160K in Florida

Horsereporter Blog Full Article

by Pam Burton
December 22 2011

December 18, 2011~The Goeth Challenge Endurance Ride, the last FEI ride of 2011, was also the first ride of the 2012 United States Equestrian Federation year. Held at the Goethe State Forest west of Ocala, Florida, the December 17 competition included 80,120 & 160k divisions. Many endurance trainers from the cold north are taking their winter barns to this area to condition and compete in the temperate Florida climate.

160K CEI 3*

On a day that saw temperatures at 75F (24C), 21 horse/riders took the trail in the 160K, 9 riding in the FEI Division. Ride Camp was located at the nearby Black Prong Equestrian Center.

Taking a break from her training position in Qatar, Ellen Olson took home the winning time and Best Condition on the Shagya, SA Belshazzar (Bayram x Jay El Tongafarah ox), in the 160 CEI3* with a ride time of 9:33 and an average speed of 16.80kph.

“Zar had a fantastic day,” said Olson. “This year he is the strongest yet of his career. We were near the front all day. Darolyn Butler and Valary Kanavy were in front positions as well. The trail was deep sand and very concussive road. There was actually a big turnout for each distance, over 100 riders for a one day ride..."

Read more here:
http://blog.horsereporter.com/2011/12/22/ellen-olson-and-sa-belshazzar-win-winter-fei-160k-in-florida/

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

AERC Decade Team: Karen Chaton and Granite Chief+/

Enduranceridestuff Blog - Karen Chaton

Riders Name: Karen Chaton

Horses Name: Granite Chief+/

Region: West

Current Rider Lifetime Mileage? 30,530

Endurance: 30,530 (12,000 of that is with Chief)

Limited Distance: 25

Tell us about your horse. When/how did you come to get him/her? Chief was given to me by his breeder. He thought I would be a good match for him; he wanted Chief to ‘do something’. I told several of my friends about these horses in the bay area that the owner wanted to find good homes for. Nobody else was interested, I think everybody thought a ‘free’ horse meant something was wrong with it. That couldn’t have been further from the truth! I took Chief home, dropping him off at the vet clinic on the way where they gelded him the next morning. Chief was almost 6 years old at the time.

What is your horses breeding? Classical Spanish and CMK, Arabian.

Sex: Gelding

DOB: 4/7/1995

Horse height: 15 hh

Approx. Weight: 930

Color: Fleabitten grey

Shoe size:

Or, hoof boot size: 1

Why did you decide to purchase this horse (or if you didn’t purchase, why did you choose to use this horse in endurance)? I liked how this horse was put together. He had nice feet and a good disposition too. You’d never have known he was gelded so late as he was always well mannered. He had not been started yet so I was starting with a clean slate on a horse already old enough to start steady work.

Did you do endurance with any other horses before this horse? Yes, Dream Weaver and Rocky. Chief is my third endurance horse, and I’m the only one that has ridden him in an endurance ride.

How many different horses have you ridden in this sport? A total of six.

Do you participate in any other horse sports or activities? Not so much any more. I used to show and do a lot of play days, plus trail riding.

How many years have you been involved with horses? In endurance? I had horses as a kid, then went twenty years without. I got started in endurance riding in 1994.

What got you interested in endurance riding? What was it that kept you interested? I wanted to do the Tevis. It’s close to where I live, and I heard a lot of stories about it. I went camping with friends to Robie Park and was mesmerized by the stories from endurance riders who were there. It took me three years to finally reach that goal, and in the meantime I realized that it wasn’t so much the destination as the journey that was the best part. I was having a great time.

How old was your horse when first started? First ride? Chief was started when he was 6 years old and did his first ride after he turned 7. I like starting my horses a little older now. I started Chief out on a multiday ride...

Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/aercdecadeteams/2011/12/karen-chaton-granite-chief/

Monday, December 19, 2011

Goethe 100

December 17 2011

Ellen Rapp and SA Belshazzar took 1st pace and Best Condition at the Goethe FEI 100-mile ride in Levy County, Florida on December 17, 2011. Finishing time was 9 hours 30 minutes.

F. Warren Hellman, Beloved Founder, Passes Away at 77

Marketwatch.com - Full Article

December 18 2011

Business innovator, private equity pioneer, dedicated philanthropist, civic champion, keen sportsman, devoted husband, father and grandfather, San Francisco icon, a true Renaissance man

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The partners at Hellman & Friedman announce with great sadness today the passing of our Founder Warren Hellman, 77, due to complications associated with leukemia.

"Warren was a great mentor, partner and friend, and above all, a great man," said Brian Powers, Chairman of Hellman & Friedman. "He will be deeply missed. His commitment to civic and philanthropic activities and his extraordinary generosity to the many causes he supported will have a lasting impact on our community."

"We have been blessed with an amazing founder. Warren has been an inspiration to all of us and set the standard by which we strive to live our personal and professional lives," said Philip Hammarskjold, Chief Executive Officer. "Warren taught us not only to be better investors, but to be better people. He always set his own course and did things in his own way. He wanted to build an investment firm dedicated to serving its limited partners and the businesses in which we invest. We have all benefited greatly from his vision, generosity and leadership."

Mick Hellman, one of Warren's four children said on behalf of his family, "Dad believed in people and their power to accomplish incredible things. In that vein, he helped start several really successful businesses over the years, and he considered Hellman & Friedman his highest professional achievement. He was an incredible problem-solver, and was great at bringing groups together that had naturally opposing interests and nudging them to a solution. He was particularly passionate about the people of San Francisco, and succeeded at projects that seemed like lost causes: fundraising for an underground parking garage in Golden Gate Park and building a consensus for pension reform in San Francisco. But he always pushed himself the hardest. His learning to play the banjo is a great example of Dad's determination and ability to find joy in confronting a challenge and overcoming it. He actually became a pretty good banjo player, and it was always really cool to walk into a limited partners meeting at Hellman & Friedman and hear his band performing."

Emmylou Harris, 12-time Grammy winner said, "I first met Warren through our mutual love of bluegrass music and came to realize over the years what a special person he was. He gave so much of himself to so many and we are all the richer for it. I'm blessed to have known him and call him my friend."

Mr. Hellman was a pioneer in the private equity business. After a distinguished career on Wall Street, he co-founded Hellman & Friedman in 1984 with Tully Friedman, and built it into one of the industry's leading private equity firms. Since its inception, the firm has raised over $25 billion of committed capital and has generated some of the industry's most outstanding investment results. Mr. Hellman was critical in many of the firms investments, including Levi Strauss & Company, VoiceStream Wireless, Young & Rubicam, Eller Media and The NASDAQ Stock Market.

Mr. Hellman joined Lehman Brothers in 1959 after graduating from Harvard Business School, and went on to become, at age 26, the youngest partner in the firm's history. From 1962 to 1977 he served in various capacities at the firm culminating in becoming its President in 1973 at age 39. In 1977, he left Lehman and moved to Boston to co-found one of the early firms in the venture capital industry which subsequently became Matrix Partners and remains a leading venture firm today. During his tenure, Matrix was an early investor in such notable start-ups as Apollo Computer, Stratus Computer, Continental Cable (now Comcast), and Apple Computer. Also in Boston, Mr. Hellman co-founded Hellman, Jordan Management Company, a specialty equity investment manager.

Mr. Hellman was a noted philanthropist with strong roots in a wide variety of local causes. He was an active participant within the community and gave generously of his time and experience to make a difference. His extraordinary generosity touched the lives of many. Mr. Hellman served as a past Chairman and Trustee Emeritus of The San Francisco Foundation and was a well-known contributor to St. Anthony's Foundation, Golden Gate Park and the San Francisco Free Clinic, which was founded by his daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Tricia and Richard Gibbs. He was an avid proponent of public education and was a proud public school graduate himself. When he was Chair of the San Francisco Foundation, he convened the San Francisco School Alliance bringing the business community and funders to support and partner with the San Francisco Unified School District. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Walter A. Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation. Mr. Hellman was also a contributor to the UC Berkeley aquatics program where he helped endow the Men's Water Polo Program, and instituted the Hellman Fellows Program at the University of California. In addition to serving the community at large, Mr. Hellman was also a member of the Board of Directors & Executive Committee for the Jewish Community Federation and Chair of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund. He was Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Bay Citizen, a non-profit local news organization, and a Trustee Emeritus of the Brookings Institution.

Mr. Hellman had a deep love of music, none more than bluegrass, the appreciation of which he always said was "hard-wired". Later in his life, he became an accomplished 5-string banjo player, and had an old-time band called The Wronglers with whom he performed all over the U.S. The Wronglers collaborated with country singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore this year and released the CD "Heirloom Music"; in June, they made a guest appearance on A Prairie Home Companion. Mr. Hellman was the Founder and principal sponsor of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco--an annual three-day, free music festival which brings together over 90 leading and emerging music groups and draws over 750,000 attendees each year. Speedway Meadow, the site of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, was recently renamed "Hellman's Hollow" in honor of Mr. Hellman. In 2005, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Hellman and his wife Chris, a former dancer, were generous supporters of the arts, including the San Francisco Ballet, where Chris chaired the Board for many years and helped make the San Francisco Ballet one of the leading ballet companies in the world today. Mr. Hellman also supported San Francisco's ODC contemporary dance company and served as Chairman of Voice of Dance.

Mr. Hellman played an active role in civic affairs in San Francisco and California. Dedicated to the well-being of San Francisco citizens, he served as a board member of the Committee on JOBS, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and Bay Area Council. Most recently, he was a pivotal member in organizing support behind Proposition C, legislation aimed at reforming San Francisco's pension system. He fostered collaborative efforts among the various constituencies to reach a joint solution. He was not afraid of political controversy, however, and led and provided financial leadership to the critical and successful effort to build an underground parking structure in Golden Gate Park, helping to keep the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum in their historic locations.

Mr. Hellman was also an accomplished endurance athlete and skier. He twice completed the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile foot race from Squaw Valley to Auburn, CA, and five times completed the Tevis Cup, a 100-mile horse race over the same course. He was also a five-time National Champion in Ride and Tie (combination of cross-country running and endurance horseback riding) in his age group and a varsity athlete in Water Polo at UC Berkeley...

Read more here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/f-warren-hellman-beloved-founder-passes-away-at-77-2011-12-18

Saturday, December 17, 2011

2012 Adequan® AERC Championship

December 17 2011

The 2012 Adequan® AERC Championship ride will be held at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, on September 20 (100 mile championship) and September 22 (50 mile championship). More information to follow!

Friday, December 09, 2011

Virginia Beach marks end of horse trip across U.S.

Hamptonroads.com - Full Article

By Joanne Kimberlin
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 9, 2011

In the lethal heat of the Nevada desert, locals left them buckets of water. When one horse went lame in Colorado, a stranger gave them a spare. The dog began following them Kansas - a stray who had no idea what she was signing up for.

After 4,000 miles, 10 states and 21 months in the saddle, Richard and Jeannette McGrath are riding through Hampton Roads on the last leg of a coast-to-coast trail ride.

As of this morning, they're just 10 miles from the final "whoa" - planned for Saturday around 1 p.m. - when their horses will sink their hooves into the saltwater off Virginia Beach.

"We're exhausted," Richard said. "All of us. Everything hurts..."

Read more here:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/virginia-beach-marks-end-horse-trip-across-us

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Steven Hay, endurance equestrian

Centredaily.com - Full Article

December 4 2011

After years of horse racing, Steven Hay now can call himself a world-class equestrian.

Hay, a 21-year-old Halfmoon Township resident and Penn State junior, is traveling to United Arab Emirates to represent his country in the Young Rider World Endurance Championships on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

As part of the five-member U.S. team, Hay will vie with riders from 35 countries on a 75-mile desert course. The sandy conditions will be new, but the distance will not. Hay, ranked second in the country for ages 14 to 21, has excelled in endurance races for nine years on trails up to 100 miles long.

He prefers hours in the saddle, going from one rest station to the next, to the horse shows of his earlier youth.

“What you use to prove yourself in endurance isn’t a couple of minutes in the ring,” he said. “You have hours to show what you can do...”

Read more here:
http://www.centredaily.com/2011/12/04/3008280/steven-hay-endurance-equestrian.html#ixzz1fa0WIq72