Equestrian Australia (EA) has announced the 2012 National Squads. Megan Jones and her nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Kirby Park Allofasudden have been selected for the Eventing National "A" squad. The Elite- and "A" Squad-listed combinations for dressage, eventing, jumping, and para-equestrian will form the Shadow Teams for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Brett Mace, Equestrian Australia's High Performance Manager, explained the composition of the Shadow Teams. "Elite-listed combinations are presently the front-runners for the Olympic and Paralympic teams," he said.  "However, I am sure our "A" Squad members will make the most of every opportunity to claim a place on the team through exceptional performances in the lead-up to London. Through the National Performance Directors and selection panels, we will continue to monitor our combinations at major events prior to nominations being due to the Australian Paralympic Committee and the Australian Olympic Committee in May and June."

Megan Jones is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER) and Barastoc, a KER Team Member. Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden have had a consistent season and will certainly be looking to catch the selectors' eye at events in the near future.

NRM-sponsored rider Vanessa Way is making the big trip from her home town of Oakura, New Zealand, to London as part of her campaign for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Way and her 14-year-old New Zealand-bred Hanoverian, KH Arvan, had a successful year in 2011, claiming Horse of The Year in Hastings in March and competing in Sydney later in the year to successfully qualify a New Zealand team for London.

The final team will be selected in June. At present, Way is one of the top contenders for a position and is determined to make it a reality. Often called one of the hardest-working people in New Zealand dressage, Way is using all her savings and taking a job in England so she can be trained by Carl Hester.

Hester is sponsored by Saracen Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research (KER) Team Member in the U.K. Way will be based at his yard in Gloucester and will ride his horses in return for personal dressage training from the elite rider. She will train with Hester right up to the 2012 Olympic Games. KER wishes Way and KH Arvan the best of luck in their campaign.  

Though it's still winter, Lisa Coulter and her horses are already prepping for the spring reining competitions. She plans to compete all four of her horses--Western Whiz, Whiz It A Chic, Yellow Jersey, and Hollywood Aces--at the Arizona Sun Circuit events in Scottsdale. At this venue, several shows take place simultaneously with classes beginning as early as 7:15 a.m., a schedule that can easily stress human and equine participants.

Throughout the rest of the spring season, the Scottsdale Reining Classic in Arizona in March and the National Reining Breeders' Classic in Texas in April will sharpen Coulter and her horses as they get ready for the Kentucky Reining Cup to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in late April. Coulter plans to show Yellow Jersey in this FEI-approved competition.

Coulter is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER). She is happy with the results she has gotten from KER's products EO-3, an omega-3 fatty acid supplement, and Synovate HA, which supports the health of joints and connective tissue.

Chester Weber is a top international four-in-hand driver sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER) and its Team Member, Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies. In a newsletter wrapping up his achievements for 2011, Weber reported that he was chosen as a USEF Equestrian of Honor. He also was awarded the Becky Grand Hart Trophy given by the USEF to the best competitor in international driving, endurance, reining, vaulting, or para-equestrian competition.

Driving a team that included three new horses, Weber sewed up a victory at the 2011 Katydid CDE in Aiken, South Carolina by winning each phase of the event. In addition, he served as chef d'equipe for the U.S. drivers at the FEI Pony World Driving Championships in Lipica, Slovenia. His support helped the U.S. drivers bring home individual and team medals from the prestigious competition.

Mary Jordan rode two horses in the Gold Coast Dressage Opener CPEDI three-star competition at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida. The FEI dressage event included 23 para-equestrian riders from seven countries. The event is one of a pair of competitions on successive weekends in which para-equestrians can earn qualifying scores for this summer's Paralympic Games in London.

Jordan had the first ride of the competition on Sebastian. She was pleased with the horse's performance but said she is looking to produce even more out of him. She also rode tests on P Sparrow Socks. At the close of competition, Jordan had achieved individual scores above 60, the cutoff for qualification, with both horses. Despite good performances by all riders, the U.S. team finished in second place behind a strong Canadian team.

Jordan, who is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), uses several KER supplements to keep her competition horses in top shape. RiteTrac, a digestive tract conditioner; EO-3, an omega-3 fatty acid supplement; and KER-Flex, a joint health product, have been part of Jordan's management plan to allow her horses to perform to their maximum potential.

The Rocking Horse Winter Horse Trials series will be held in Ocala, Florida, beginning in late January and continuing through the spring. These shows are USEA/USEF recognized and offer competition from Beginner-novice to the Intermediate or Advanced level. Kentucky Equine Research is a sponsor of this competition series. Interested persons can go to www.useventing.com or www.evententries.com to get more information.

The Second Annual Salute to Driving event will be held in Aiken and Windsor, South Carolina, on February 18 to 20, 2012. The event is being held to help raise awareness and educate different audiences about the discipline of driving. Proceeds will go to benefit High Performance Driving programs for the United States Equestrian Team Foundation.

Many activities, including silent and live auctions, are scheduled during the event. One of the live auction items going up for bidding is a lesson with top driver Chester Weber during this year's Live Oak driving competition. Weber, who is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER) and Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies, a KER Team Member, is a perennial four-in-hand driving champion. Weber counts on feed products and nutritional supplements supplied by these companies to keep his competition horses fit and in good body condition.

When the Eclipse Awards were announced in January of 2012, Kentucky Equine Research (KER) and its Team Member Hallway Feeds had a share in the glory. The common factor for Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, named top three-year-old male, and Royal Delta, chosen as top three-year-old female, is that both horses trained and raced on products manufactured by Hallway and containing a fortification package supplied by KER.

Bill Mott and Bob Baffert finished one-two in the contest for top trainer, and both trainers are Hallway clients who choose these products to keep their horses in optimal racing condition. Graham Motion, trainer of Animal Kingdom, also placed well up in the voting for this honor.

Dates for shows in the 2012 Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting have been set. From the first show in late January to the last contest in France in October, competitors will have an opportunity to show in six states and two countries outside of the United States. Cutting, an equestrian discipline in which a horse "cuts" a designated calf out of a herd and keeps it separated until signaled to quit, is gaining popularity among riders and spectators in many parts of the world. For show dates and more information, click here.

The International Hoof Care Summit, to be held January 31 to February 3 in Cincinnati, Ohio, offers an opportunity to learn more about the structure, management, and problems of the equine hoof. Attendees can attend workshops, clinics, and lectures where expert professionals will explain a wide variety of hoof-related issues. Interested horse owners, veterinarians, and farriers can download a registration form here.

Bruce "Buck" Davidson, Jr., an eventing rider who is a Promise Partner for Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies, made history at the recent United States Eventing Association (USEA) annual meeting. Davidson was the first rider to collect Rider of the Year, Horse of the Year, Mare of the Year, Advanced Horse of the Year, and Adequan/USEA Gold Cup Series Championship honors in the same year. Davidson's father, Bruce Davidson Sr., was named USEA Rider of the Year fifteen times, and more recently Phillip Dutton, another top rider sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), won the honor for eleven years.

To keep his horses in condition for their training and competition schedule, Buck chooses feeds formulated by KER and manufactured by Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies, a KER Team Member. These feed products contain levels of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals that support the demands of strenuous exercise, allowing the horses to perform to their maximum potential.

Lola, when first purchased and one month later.

Six weeks later and with the help of a KER nutrition advisor, Lola and her colt are a picture of health. The recommendation was for a diet of Barastoc Breed N Grow and KER Equi-Jewel.

Catherine reported, "I am amazed at how quickly she has gained weight considering she has a nursing foal!  We didn't think we would be able to breed her until next season due to her poor state, but we are going to try a late-season breeding, as she is on a huge rising plane of condition and nutrition."

Lola, six weeks after new diet was introduced.

The Smiths are well aware of the importance of correct nutrition, especially when it comes to broodmares. Catherine said, "The one thing that upsets me is people who have owned pleasure horses then decide to breed and they think the feeding is the same for a broodmare in foal/foal at foot as for their pleasure horse on a maintenance diet.  I believe this is what happened in Lola's case."

The American Feed Industry Association will present its International Feed Expo from January 23 to 27 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Attendees can learn about global regulatory guidelines for feed, animal-production sustainability issues, pet food developments, pre-harvest grain safety measures, and domestic and international trends in the feed industry.

Variability of ingredients, Salmonella control, mycotoxin safeguards, and implications of the Food Safety Modernization Act will be discussed.

For more information, call 703-558-3574.

Grand Prix dressage rider Shiwon Green has been named among a lineup of "Helmet Heroes" for her work in promoting helmet wearing and safety among horse riders. She is sponsored by NRM, a Team Member of Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

Shiwon was among the first top-level riders to swap a helmet for the sport's traditional top hat early in 2011.  

Shiwon Green and Gosh

Since Green made the change, top German rider Isabell Werth has also made the move to wearing a safety helmet, declaring, "Horses are not pieces of sports equipment but living beings. Since you never know if they might react differently under saddle than expected, I decided to ride with a helmet from now on." Werth was also named a Helmet Hero for 2011.

The campaign has the official endorsement of the USEF as well as support from leading equestrians in various disciplines.

The problem of unwanted horses is widespread and apparently growing across the United States. Many rescue organizations are at capacity, can't accept more horses, and are struggling to feed the ones they are already caring for.

As one step in the effort to combat this nationwide problem, the American Horse Council, in partnership with the Kentucky Horse Council and Kentucky Horse Park (KHP), will provide an equine castration clinic on March 10, 2012. The clinic, to be held at KHP in Lexington, provides free gelding surgery though $20 registration processing fee will be charged to help defray necessary expenses.

Stallions are generally more difficult to manage than geldings and often can't be used for pleasure riding. Gelding a horse that is not of top-notch breeding quality eliminates most management problems, prevents the horse from producing unwanted offspring, and results in a horse that can be ridden and used in multiple ways. Gelding young horses is a relatively simple procedure from which the horses usually recover quickly. The procedure is somewhat more difficult in mature stallions because more tissue is involved, but most recoveries are still uncomplicated.

The clinic is open to any horse whose owner who is financially unable to afford the surgery. Castrations will be performed by a veterinarian or a veterinary student under close supervision by a licensed veterinarian. Stallions must be at least four months of age, halter-broken, in good health, and with two descended testicles. A current Coggins test and health certificate are required. 

To register a horse for the clinic or to get more information, call 859-233-4305 or go here.

 

Bill Mott and Bob Baffert made the top-five Thoroughbred trainer list for 2011 based on total earnings. Mott, who swept the Breeders' Cup Classic with Drosselmeyer and Ladies' Classic with Royal Delta, finished the year in fourth place with $10,600,000 in earnings. Baffert, who led all trainers in number of Grade 1 victories with eleven, had a total of $13,940,000 in winnings to finish in third place on the list.

These successful trainers have selected products manufactured by Hallway Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research (KER) Team Member, to support their elite equine charges as they train and race. Fortified with a proprietary nutrient package formulated by KER, these feeds meet the requirement for superior vitamin and mineral content that is highly bioavailable to the horse. By providing the nutrients necessary for tissue maintenance, nerve health, and metabolic function, Hallway products are a vital part of the success of these trainers and the health of the horses they oversee.

Interested in harness racing? If you attend races, own or train a harness horse, or have some other connection to the sport, you can participate in a survey conducted by Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) to gauge the scope of involvement in this industry.

To ensure HRNZ gets as much feedback as possible, the 2011 survey will remain open for a while longer. The organization hopes to gain an insight into industry trends and areas that can be improved. To have your say, click here