Andrew Nicholson has been chosen as a member of the 2012 High Performance squad in eventing by Equestrian Sports New Zealand. Topping the British Eventing points list for the second year in a row and holding the number-three ranking in the world in 2011, Nicholson and the other three riders on the squad are in the running for selection on the New Zealand team that will compete in the Olympic Games in London later this year. Nicholson is sponsored by Bluegrass Horse Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member. One of the feeds Nicholson uses, Re-Solve Low GI Cube, is formulated to provide energy from fat and digestible fiber rather than totally from the feed's starch component. This formulation results in a lower glycemic response to feeding, eliminating excessive variations in the horse's energy supply during exercise.

Mill Park Thoroughbred Stud has been extremely successful at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling sales held earlier this year. The South Australian stud farm presented just five yearlings, who were all sold at an average of $267,000.

The star for Mill Park at $360,000 was a Bernardini (USA) colt from Rock on Madonna that was bought by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Mill Park Thoroughbreds are fed the Kentucky Equine Research (KER) products All Phase and Equi-Jewel to ensure optimum growth and development. The farm also uses Cool Command from KER Team Member Barastoc during yearling preparation.

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.  

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.

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.

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."

Liaison, a two-year-old Thoroughbred colt by Indian Charlie, won the CashCall Futurity (Grade 1) at Hollywood Park on December 17. The victory was the horse's second win in five weeks, following a first-place finish in the Real Quiet Stakes on November 12. Liaison has a lifetime record of three wins and a show in his four-start career. 

Liaison's win is an important step on the Triple Crown trail. This destination will be the focus of leading three-year-olds after their January 1 birthday.

Trainer Bob Baffert saddled Liaison for the race, also sending out fourth-place finisher Sky Kingdom. Baffert was the trainer of Indian Charlie, sire of Liaison. Liason picked up the victory to become Indian Charlie's fifth Grade 1 winner less than a week after Indian Charlie's death.

Baffert, a top trainer who has claimed five CashCall Futurity wins in 14 years, trusts products manufactured by Hallway Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research (KER) Team Member, to fuel the winning efforts of the horses in his stable. Feeds provided by Hallway are formulated to include fortification pellets from KER, guaranteeing the proper level of protein, vitamins, and minerals needed to support the demands of growth, race training, and performance.

The Queen's Plate Stakes, the first race in the Canadian Triple Crown, had a celebrity guest this year. Queen Elizabeth II was in attendance to watch Big Red Mike pull away in the stretch at Woodbine Racetrack to win by a length and a half.

Big Red Mike, the wire-to-wire leader in the $944,316 race for Canadian-born three-year-olds, is trained by Nicholas Gonzalez. Kentucky Equine Research Team Member Brooks Feed Store in Port Perry, Ontario supplies feed to Gonzalez' training stable.

Big Red Mike is owned by the Terra Racing Stable and is named for owner Dom Romeo's red-haired son. The horse's next start will be in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie Raceway.

KER-sponsored riders Karen O'Connor and Phillip Dutton came out of the dressage phase of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in strong positions heading into cross country.

Karen and Mandiba, her mount in the 2008 Olympic Games, tied with Allison Springer for second place, while Phillip Dutton occupied three of the Top 10 positions: seventh with The Foreman, eighth with Woodburn, and tenth with Waterfront.

Riders associated with KER Team Member Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies also placed well, including Kim Severson in fourth, and Jennifer Wooten-DaFoe in twelfth. Pennfield also supports O'Connor and Dutton.

William Fox-Pitt, Becky Holder, and Oliver Townend rounded out the Top 10, with Fox-Pitt in the lead overall. See the Rolex leaderboard.

Read more about Elite Riders sponsored by KER.

Kentucky Equine Research (KER) is an international equine nutrition, research and consultation company serving both the horse owner and the feed industry. Its goal is to advance the industry's knowledge of equine nutrition and exercise physiology and apply this knowledge to produce healthier, more athletic horses.