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.

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.

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."

Four Australian riders worked together to achieve a team bronze medal at the World Endurance Youth Championships held at Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, on December 10.  

The team consisted of Allix Jones riding Castlebar Moonlight, Brooke Warner riding Kunama Safira, Alexandra Toft riding High Society, and Georgia Toft riding Bremervale Arrogance.

Allix had an impressive ride on Castlebar Moonlight to finish just 12 seconds behind the winner for the individual silver medal.

Several members of the Toft family have been successful endurance riders, and all of their horses are fed Kentucky Equine Research (KER) supplements and Team Member Barastoc feeds. KER has been sourcing feed stockists for the team in the UAE, and has supplied members with a number of supplements to assist the horses during travel and competition.

The members of the Australian Young Riders Team are settling in well in Abu Dhabi, and are ready for the 2011 World Youth Endurance Championships to begin. About 80 starters from 29 countries will compete in the event.

The Australian team consists of Alexandra Toft, Brooke Warner, Georgia Toft, and Allix Jones.
Several members of the Toft family have been successful endurance riders, and all of their horses are fed Kentucky Equine Research (KER) supplements and Team Member Barastoc feeds. KER has been sourcing feed stockists for the team in the UAE, and has supplied members with a number of supplements to assist the horses during travel and competition.

Team veterinarian Narelle Crib reports, "The horses are all doing well, getting some solid work under their belts and looking great. All are eating and drinking like they should, and have adjusted to the normal routine. So have the people! We're now on the serious countdown to race day on 10 December."

Megan Jones finished sixth and twelfth on Kirby Park Allofasudden and Kirby Park Irish Jester respectively at the Australian International Three Day Event held at Adelaide.

Kirby Park Irish Jester made an impressive return to top-level eventing, winning the dressage with a formidable score of 43.3. Unfortunately, a stop at the water complex on cross-country saw the pair drop out of contention. Despite the stop, Megan is ecstatic that Jester, who has been out of competition for over a year, had a great round and "felt like he had never been out of work." One rail in show jumping saw the pair finish commendably just out of the top ten.

Megan's other ride, Kirby Park Allofasudden, had a consistent event, finishing fifteenth after dressage, then picking up four time penalties cross-country and one show jumping rail to finish sixth overall.

Kentucky Equine Research (KER) and Australian Team Member Barastoc recently returned from a successful four days at Equitana Sydney.

Barastoc/KER booth at Equitana

KER and Barastoc offered competitions, diet advice, merchandise, and products at their stand. They also took the opportunity to launch Barastoc Cool Command and Barastoc Competitor, two exciting new products containing beet pulp. Beet pulp is a highly digestible fibre source that has not previously been available in Australian complete feeds.

The stand was a hive of activity, and the new feeds attracted plenty of attention. A competition to win an all-expenses-paid trip to South Australia and a trail ride with KER/Barastoc- sponsored event rider Megan Jones also proved very popular, with a record number of entries.

After the success of the event in Sydney, the team is now looking forward to the Melbourne event next year.

For more information on the new Barastoc feeds, contact KER or Ridley Agriproducts.

The Australian Young Riders Team will compete at the 2011 World Youth Endurance Championships in Abu Dhabi. The team consists of Alexandra Toft, Brooke Warner, Georgia Toft, and Allix Jones.

Kentucky Equine Research (KER) has been sourcing feed stockists for the team in the UAE, and has supplied members with a number of supplements to assist the horses from travel to competition.

The horses will be flying out on 22 November and will have Kristie Taprell, Blake Freeman, and Peter Toft on board to monitor their well-being and attend to their needs.

Team veterinarian Narelle Cribb and chef d'equipe Mark Freeman will be in Dubai, ready to greet the horses when they arrive. The team will then make its way to Abu Dhabi, where the horses will have a chance to recover from the flight and prepare for race day on 10 December.

Several members of the Toft family have been successful endurance riders, and all of their horses are fed KER supplements and Team Member Barastoc feeds.

Dressage teams from Australia and New Zealand have secured a start at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Shiwon Green and Gosh

Qualification was a two-part process, with the first leg held in Sydney on 28 October and the final leg in Ermelo on the 2 November.

Teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa competed for the two slots.

The Australian team, consisting of Rachael Sanna and Jaybee Alabaster; Chantal Wigan and Ferero; Lyndal Oatley and Potifar; and Mary Hanna and Sancette, scored an average of 69.25%, which put the team in first place.

Team New Zealand, which was composed of Louisa Hill and Bates Antonello; Vanessa Way and KH Arvan; Nicky Pope and Fabarchie; and Shiwon Green and Gosh, finished second with an average team score of 64.92%. Team South Africa was a close third with an average score of 63.00%.

Both Vanessa Way and Shiwon Green are sponsored by KER's New Zealand Team Member NRM. While competing in Australia, KER and Australian Team Member Barastoc assisted these riders in formulating diets for their horses, and the horses were fuelled on Barastoc feeds while competing in Australia.  

Cox Plate heroine Pinker Pinker was foaled and raised at Glenwood, a farm at Modewarre near Geelong that was owned by Tim and Di Dennis. Tim and Di used an old-fashioned, home-mixed feeding program that included lots of home-cut chaff and KER Nutrequin as a supplement.

Barastoc Cool Command was used at Glenwood during yearling prep, but Pinker Pinker was sold as a yearling by Milford Thoroughbreds at Avenel, as Tim and Di had retired from yearling preparation. They sold their first yearling in 1964, so it was a well-deserved retirement!