Meg Wade and China Doll

After their forced break from competition, due to the Australian EI situation, Meg Wade and the team from Castlebar were back to their winning ways at the recent Walwa CEI 2*/3* ride.

Meg Wade rode a World Cup qualifying time of 9:14:33 to take the honours on her long time partner China Doll over the 160km 3* course. Backing up Meg's 3* win, she also took out the 2* aboard Castlebar Balik. Of the 17 completions in the 2* competition, an incredible six of the 17 horses were bred by Castlebar.

KER would like to wish Meg Wade and all of the Castlebar connections great success in their preparation for the 12th FEI World Endurance Championships to be held in Terengganu, Malaysia from the 6-9 November 2008.

Megan Jones couldn't have asked for a better start for her final run towards making the team for Beijing. December saw Megan take out first and second place in the CIC*** class at the Lakes and Craters 3DE. Megan finished in stunning style on her dressage score of 34 penalties aboard Kirby Park Irish Jester followed closely by a Kirby Park Allofasudden who she rode to a second placing.

This incredible performance was relived only a short time later when at the Tonimbuk Horse Trials Megan was again able to produce another two stunning performances. Kirby Park Irish Jester further upheld his reputation as one of the best 3* horses in the country by again winning the CIC*** in fine style ahead of Megan's second ride in the class, Kirby Park Allofasudden.

Phillip Dutton and Connaught.
Photo: Becky Young

Thanks to a careful stadium jumping round, Phillip Dutton and his Irish Sport Horse gelding Connaught claimed victory at the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Dutton, one of only two riders to avoid penalties in the stadium phase, moving up from second place in the final minutes of the competition when leader Becky Holder had two rails down. Karen O'Connor and her diminutive mount Theodore O'Connor, a Sport Pony gelding, finished in sixth place, while Dutton also had a tenth-place finish with Woodburn, a New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding. Dutton and O'Connor are sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research and Pennfield Feeds, a KER Team Member. Another Pennfield-sponsored rider, Kim Severson, claimed fifth place on Tipperary Liadhnan, an Irish Sport Horse gelding

Equinews, Vol. 11, No. 2 is a special thirty-page issue that recaps the first twenty years of Kentucky Equine Research. Founded in 1988 by Dr. Joe Pagan, KER has used the results of its studies to design better feeds and feeding programs to promote healthy management of equine athletes. This issue of Equinews concentrates on KER's three-pronged contribution to the equine industry: research, consultation, and product development.

In the Research section, summaries of studies are presented as well as information on the various horses, facilities, and staff members that have played key roles over the years.

The Consultation portion of the magazine highlights KER's Team Member companies, foal growth software packages, and affiliations with national and international organizations, competitions, and riders.

Under Products, readers will find information about the various feeds, supplements, and formulations developed by KER to meet the specific needs of performance horses. Special credit is given to Dr. Stephanie Valberg, a University of Minnesota professor who collaborated with KER nutritionists to develop Re-Leve. This feed was designed as an alternative to traditional rations for horses with recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis or polysaccharide storage myopathy. Valberg was recently honored by the Association of University Technology Mangers for her contributions in the development of this feed.