The 38 Australian horses taking part in the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will have a place in history as the first equine athletes to participate in this new global effort to introduce young people to the Olympic values.

Australia's Glen Haven Park was charged with recruiting and training the horses for the event, which will include individual and team jumping competitions. The competitors select the horse on which they'll compete through a random draw. See a video of the horses arriving and settling in to the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre. 

Kentucky Equine Research Team Member, Barastoc (Ridley Agriproducts) is the official feed supplier for these horses for the 12 months leading up to and during the event. The horses receive nutritionally balanced diets with Barastoc feeds and KER supplements to bring out the best in each horse.

KER has worked closely with the trainers and staff at Glen Haven Park to ensure that the transition of horses from Queensland, Australia to Singapore has been as seamless as possible. The horses have been gradually acclimatized during their 12 months of training in lead-up to the games. Their diet and condition been carefully monitored throughout each stage of their preparation. These diets include:

Equestrian uniforms for the Youth Olympic Games.

• Barastoc Calm Performer
• Barastoc Cool Command
• KER Restore ™
• KER Hemabuild™
• KER Equi-Jewel™

With little time between the horses' arrival and return to peak competition fitness it has been imperative that everything, from the hay and water was taken with them whilst in transit to ensuring that their usual feed and supplements were at the venue for when they landed, to make sure the journey has been as stress free as possible. All the horses travelled extremely well and landed in excellent condition and have since begun their rigorous training schedule in lead-up to this week's competition.

Learn more about the equestrian events of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Olympian Karen O'Connor has set her sights on this fall's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, reports veteran groom Max Corcoran. O'Connor, who is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), holds one of 16 spots on the 2010 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Short List with longtime mount and Olympic partner Mandiba.

Their next steps in qualifying for WEG will include dressage training with Oded Shimoni and competing in jumper classes at the HITS Culpeper Spring & Summer Show Series. Their next event will be the Richland Park Horse Trials in late August, before heading to the official selection trials, the Land Rover/USEA American Eventing Championships at Chattahoochee Hills.

Corcoran is responsible for O'Connor's top horses, and works with Karen and consultants at KER to assess each horse's different nutritional needs. Each one has to be catered to differently in order to perform its best.

"The most important elements leading up to a competition are overall health of the horse, starting with nutrition," Corcoran said. "Without proper nutrition you cannot have a healthy horse and a healthy horse is a sound horse. My priorities until that time are fitness and soundness as well."

KER products used by O'Connor team include EquiShure™, Restore™, DuraPlex®, Nano•E™, Triad™, Bio-Bloom™, and Hemabuild™, while feed is provided by KER Team Member Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies.

John Crandell and Heraldic earned their second Tevis Cup victory on July 26, 2010.

Considered the most arduous endurance race in the world, the Tevis Cup is contested over 100 miles of rugged California trail.

In addition to grueling terrain, the scorching heat offered challenges this year. Temperatures soared into the 90s, and this single factor caused many of the horse-and-rider teams to go slower than normal or retire. Fewer than half of the starters finished the trek.

LR Bold Greyson, ridden by Shannon Constanti, finished in second place. The Crandell family of Star Tanney, Va., owns both Heraldic and LR Bold Greyson, a homebred. Crandell and Constanti finished two hours in front of the other competitors.

Crandell uses several KER-formulated products to produce winning results including Preserve™ and Hemabuild™. In addition, he also uses the KERx Wellness Supplement specifically designed by KER nutritionists. Crandell is brother-in-law to Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a KER nutritionist based in Virginia and an endurance enthusiast.

Kathleen Crandell has spoken extensively on feeding and managing elite endurance horses, most recently at this year's KER Nutrition Conference, where she presented the paper "Observations and Recommendations for Feeding the Endurance Horse."