The American Quarter Horse Journal – At its annual convention in Grapevine, Texas, the American Quarter Horse Association handed out its coveted all-around high-point awards in the youth, amateur and open divisions. Molli Lyn Jacobs and Radical McCue won the Featherlite AQHA Youth All-Around High-Point title; Lindsey Stevenson and RL Cocoas Version won the Featherlite AQHA All-Around Amateur title; and Four Bonnie Bay, owned by Mike St. Clair of Kahoka, Missouri, won the Featherlite Open All-Around High-Point title.
All-Around Youth
In 2010, Molli Lyn Jacobs rode her way into AQHA history books as the Featherlite AQHA Youth All-Around High-Point Champion with Radical McCue. They also collected youth high-point titles in showmanship and performance halter geldings, and finished third in trail, fourth in horsemanship and fifth in hunt seat equitation. Radical McCue is a 2000 bay gelding by Radical Rodder and out of Jetterri McCue by Tuff Joe Jet.
“He’s very athletic and very strong,” says Molli, a high school senior at Garaway High School in Sugarcreek, Ohio. “You could put him through anything, and he’s going to come out stronger than before.”
Catherine Haddad, Shawna Harding and Rabiola Are the Big Winners
Devon, PA — The ladies rocked Dressage at Devon! Catherine Haddad, Shawna Harding and Rabiola took home the major championships and wins during the six-day show held September 28-October 3. With a full roster of breed show and performance classes, the event showcased the magic of the historic show grounds and international competition. New programs, including the Young Performance Horse Championship, kept the show fresh and exciting.
Tuesday
Special fillies and colts strutted their stuff on the opening day of Dressage at Devon. These youngsters demonstrated the power of North American breeders when all of Tuesday’s champions were awarded above 81% on the way to their tri-colors. A full day of classes ran late into the night at the continent’s premier breed show as the young horses kicked off six days of great competition celebrating the show’s 35th Anniversary.
Taking home the top honors of Young Horse Champion, as well as the Colt Championship, was El Paso ISF, a yearling son of UB40 that was bred by Iron Spring Farm. The chestnut KWPN colt with flaxen mane and tail demonstrated stellar movement and exceptional presence as he won the Yearling Colts class over 16 other talented youngsters. The colt didn’t leave any ribbons on the table when he also won the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Breeders Colt Championship. El Paso ISF is a previous winner at Dressage at Devon; he took home the blue ribbon last year in the Weanling Colts class.
Chester Weber discusses the training program he is using that will lead him to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky this fall. (Photos courtesy of Central Florida Community College)
Ocala, FL (May 12, 2010) – Combined Driver Chester Weber, the eight-time USEF National Four In Hand Champion, recently shared the secret to his success with students in an Exercise Physiology class in the Equine Studies program at Central Florida Community College (CFCC). The community college is the only two-year institution in Florida that offers an equine program, and Equine Studies is the college’s most popular Associate in Science degree program.
“Chester gave a wonderful talk to my Exercise Physiology students during their last class of the semester,” said Dr. Judy Downer, Associate Professor of Equine Studies. “Chester summarized his training and conditioning program that he is using that will lead him up to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky this fall. It was a great review of the subjects we covered all semester.”
May 7, 2010 – LEXINGTON, KY – The World Games 2010 Foundation is pleased to announce that 60 National Federations have submitted entries in principle for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. They are:
Argentina France Norway
Australia Germany Paraguay
Austria Great Britain Poland
Belgium Greece Portugal
Bermuda Guatemala Qatar
Brazil Hungary Russia
Bahrain India Saudi Arabia › Continue reading
Lausanne (SUI), 22 April 2010 – The FEI is to host a two-day global Congress to debate the use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in competition. The FEI Congress on NSAIDs Usage and Medication in the Equine Athlete, which will be held in Lausanne*, Switzerland on August 16/17, will include the presentation of educational and scientific papers as well as open debate.
The vote on the use of NSAIDs in competition will not be taken until the FEI General Assembly in Chinese Taipei (1-6 November), but all interested parties are advised to register for the Congress early to book their places and ensure that their voices are heard in this important debate.
The Congress is open to National Federations and representatives of all stakeholder groups, including vets, officials, Riders Clubs, Organisers, FEI Laboratories, racing and breeding authorities, sponsors, the IOC, as well as the media.
Check www.fei.org for regular updates on the Congress.
*Venue for the Congress will be confirmed once approximate numbers have been finalised.
2 May 2010 – Nominations for the FEI Presidential election closed at midnight CET yesterday, 1 May 2010, and three candidates have been put forward for the post.
HRH Princess Haya, who was elected to the FEI Presidency in 2006, has declared that she is seeking a second four-year term to take her through to the 2014 General Assembly. The other two candidates are Sven Holmberg (SWE), the FEI’s current First Vice President, and Henk Rottinghuis (NED), who was elected as a member of the FEI Audit and Compliance Committee at the 2009 General Assembly.
The FEI Presidential election will take place at the 2010 FEI General Assembly, which will be held in Chinese Taipei on 5 November. National Federations will vote by secret ballot at the General Assembly.
America’s Horse, April, 26, 2010 – The words “expo” or “clinic” really don’t capture the essence of QuarterFest: A Celebration of the Horse. Actually, “celebration” is a pretty good way to sum it up.
Sponsored by the American Quarter Horse Association, QuarterFest – April 30 – May 2 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee – is a weekend filled with top-notch clinicians, a fun area for kids, evenings of entertainment and more. Whether you bring your horse to participate or just come to watch, you’re sure to find plenty to see and do. Here are some of the highlights:
Clinicians include: Stacy Westfall (reining), Lynn Palm (English equitation and dressage), Julie Goodnight (common riding problems and solutions), Curt Pate (ranch roping and stockmanship), Tammy Pate (yoga/horsemanship and negotiating trail obstacles), Mike Major (versatility ranch horse), Ken McNabb (colt starting), Bo Winslow (horse camping), and Christy Landwehr (beginning horsemanship and youth riding lessons).
What’s a celebration without party games? The QuarterFest playday kicks off April 30 and May 1, with fun games like egg and spoon horsemanship, apple bobbing and cowboy jousting, just to name a few. The competitions will be separated into age groups, with great prizes in each division. The cost is only $5 per session, payable at the gate. Special QuarterFest certificates of achievement will be mailed to participants riding American Quarter Horses. To learn more about the play day, visit www.aqha.com/news/2010PressReleases/03292010QuarterFestPlayDay.
I wanted to congratulate all the winners in the February V show, as well as remind members of a few of the benefits of IPHDA membership.
Amateur High Point Winners:
Masters Division:
1st/ Joe Kirkland and enterprising Cowboy, passing and Scoring 83.3% in level 2
2nd/ Kim Ross and Ruger passing and Scoring 75% in level 2
3rd/ Jennie Long and Willy T Money passing and Scoring 70% in level 1
Future Masters Division:
Tie 1st/ Emily Cato and Big Bad Bob scoring 45,.8% in level 2
Tie 1st/ Joe Kirkland and Lady Alexandra scoring 45,.8% in level 2
3rd Andrea Thomas and Electric D Renegade Scoring 40% in level 1
4th Zoe Sametz-Goodwin and Dixie scoring 35% in level 1 › Continue reading
The American Quarter Horse Journal, February 18, 2010 – College equestrian programs depend on reliable horses, and no horses fit the bill like the American Quarter Horse.
That’s certainly the case for the University of Georgia, which recently reclaimed its top spot in the bimonthly poll of Varsity Equestrian coaches, just months before the National Championships that will be held April 15-17, 2010, in Waco, Texas.
Of the Georgia Bulldog horse herd, many are American Quarter Horses, said Georgia equestrian coach Meghan Boenig.
Georgia athletes practice their riding skills on the horses, many of which have been donated to the university for equestrian competition.
By AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes with Christine Hamilton in The American Quarter Horse Journal
For a roper who is thinking about tying-on, here’s what Jay had to say on the subject.
Tying-On Options
Leather quick-release
Made of leather with a brass ring.
Can loosen rope even with pressure on.
Common to jackpot ropers.
Cost: $5-$12.
Comments: My wife, Rhonda, uses this quick release. It’s leather with a ring and a slot. You push the ring up through the slot and then push the tail through the ring. When it’s wrapped around a saddle horn, the tail end holds it on the horn. When there’s pressure put on that, it won’t come off the horn. But all you have to do is reach down and pull that tail, and it comes loose.
Mechanical Quick Release
Made of metal; mechanical, spring loaded. Brands include Hector Heeler and Easy-Action.
Can loosen rope even with pressure on.
Common to jackpot ropers.
Cost: $50-$65.
Comments: With the Hector Heeler, your rope goes in and around a little pin. It’s spring-loaded, and that holds it together. When you push that knob down, it releases.
This is probably the most used to tie-on and probably the easiest to use, because all you have to do is push down on that metal piece.
Horn knot
Made of braided leather, nylon, plastic or aluminum.
Must have slack to loosen the rope.
Used in tie-down roping.
Cost: $1-$5.
Comments: With a (quick release), even if there is pressure on the rope, you can get this loose. With a horn knot, you have to ride your horse up so you have slack to loosen it. If you use this to heel, you want to leave a longer tail in the knot so you can use it to pull it off your horn.
There’s nothing wrong with using a horn knot as long as your header knows you have it on your horn. When the steer gets stretched, it can’t go anywhere as long as the header holds it. You can ride up and loosen the rope and take it off.
But if for some reason your header didn’t know you were tied on, and he faces and immediately turns his rope loose, and the steer takes off to the other end of the arena, there’s still pressure on the rope, and you’re stuck. I’ve never seen someone have to cut off a rope, but there’s a heck of a jerk on the heel horse and on the cow.
My daughter, Morgan, uses a horn knot, but the only person I’ll let head for her is me. I take care of the issue of her getting it off that horn.
Rope Length
The ropes that people use to tie-on with are shorter, because you don’t need a 35-foot rope. The only reason we have 35-foot ropes out there is because we miss dallies, and we want another chance at it while that steer is still moving away, and we let that rope slide through our hand.
Normally, if everything goes right and I dally, the other three coils are still in my hand. If something goes wrong and I have to slide more rope to get my dally, then I use the other part of that 35-foot rope. But if everything goes right, this is all the rope I’m going to have out anyway.
So instead of having three coils in your hand when you dally, you have a loop and no coils when you’re tied-on. Exactly how long is by preference, but there should be no more than one coil in your hand.
Never “Hard and Fast”
If you’re out in the pasture, there are a lot of ways to tie-on: You can braid the end of your rope several ways or tie something like a half-hitch in it, tie a knot and pull it down on your saddle horn. But those ways don’t come off the saddle horn.
You only do that when you don’t have any other options. You’re out in the woods or brush, and you need to rope something, and you’re not sure you can dally. You have to tie off the rope hard and fast.
For a competition, it makes no sense – not when these safer options are available.
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