A national Welfare Code of Practice has been endorsed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Quarter Horse Association, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the United States Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Trotting Association. The Welfare Code of Practice, drafted by the American Horse Council, outlines in generic terms what it means for an organization to be committed to the responsible breeding, training, care,...

The Old Dominion Horse Show in Manakin Sabot, VA, was the site for the inaugural competition for ponies nominated to the North American Pony Futurity (NAPF) Registry incentive program. A parade of lovely young ponies competed in hand, divided by ages and genders. USEF “R” Hunter Breeding judges Joe Dotoli (of Vermont) and Beth Neilsen (of Colorado) evaluated the youngsters at the walk and trot prior to standing for conformation. Amateur and pro handlers were equally represented with Tim Foster...

The international sport of reining will host the world’s premiere event for reiners—the 2009 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show, November 26 through December 5, at Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, OK. The $1.9-million show features the NRHA Futurity—the premiere event for three-year-old reining horses. At the end of the Open Finals on Saturday, December 5, one entry is guaranteed a check for $125,000 as...

Stolen Horse International, aka NetPosse.com, will launch its NetPosse Crime Watch pilot program to help form closer links with horse farm owners and the crimes committed on the farm. The NetPosse Crime Watch team is working on setting up an early warning system so that owners and riders can be contacted with information about possible crimes in their area. Sometimes information comes to the attention of Stolen Horse International that is not a crime but is suspicious. This information can be...

Consignors and prospective buyers gathered on October 28 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, TX to view more than 90 quality appaloosas up for auction in the 2009 world appaloosa sale, held in conjunction with the prestigious 2009 world championship appaloosa show. The highly anticipated event, hosted by the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC), was comprised of several sales, including the Yearling Incentive Sale, the Broodmare Incentive Sale and the Select Appaloosa Sale. Consigners and...

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity will bring the best three-year-old reining horses to Oklahoma City, OK, starting Thanksgiving day, but to many NRHA members the Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships (NAAC) is the final leg of their quest to proudly represent their region among riders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico; and battle for an NRHA North American Affiliate Championship title. This year’s Adequan® NAAC, held in conjunction with the NRHA Futurity, will see...

Last year the United States Hunter Jumper Association proposed a rule change to the point structure for the professional hunter divisions to effectively go from deciding champions based on points earned to money won. USEF, the governing body of equestrian sports, passed this rule in January of 2009 with a December 1 start date. Bob Bell, President of Classic Company and the show organizer for the Jacksonville Winter Series, has decided to use the new rule to make some giant changes to the...

He may have been small, but that didn’t keep an American Shetland Pony named Cornerstone’s Valiant Man from making a big impact when he attended the 82nd National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention in Indianapolis. The Shetland Pony, owned by Sherri Jolliff, represented the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and was a big hit with the horse enthusiasts attending the convention. “We were proud to have the opportunity to support the FFA...

During the weekend of November 5-8, 25-year-old Kerry Tracey of Watkinsville, GA, led the victory gallop at the final SmartPak Equine/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Training Three-Day Event aboard her homebred Thoroughbred/Appaloosa gelding Chasing The Music. Although the entries were low for this long-format division, which was held in conjunction with the Rocking Horse Fall Horse Trials (Altoona, FL), the competition was fierce, and Tracey moved up from fourth after dressage to...

Dana Fiore and her eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Redford, rode away with the victory in the Prix St. Georges class at the Gold Coast Fall Fling show, the kick-off show for the Gold Coast Dressage Association’s winter dressage series. Equilite, the makers of the award-winning Sore No More products and Botanical Animal Flower Essences, sponsored the Prix St. Georges, and Fiore took home a giant tote bag filled with Equilite products. “Redford was very supple, and he was forward. He did the...