The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) offers a new youth award this year, the Academy Master Medal Award. The Master Medal Award goes beyond the ASHA Academy Awards program, offering participants an opportunity to advance to a higher level after earning their first Gold medal in the Academy Awards Medal program. The Master Medal Awards program encourages participation in promotion, education and continued involvement with the American Saddlebred. Master Gold, Silver and Bronze medals...

Horse lovers from all walks of life gathered in the Sundowner Arena to attend a series of three clinics given by World Champion horsemen Al Dunning and Bob Avila, presented by Farnam Horse Products, during the Ninth Annual Western States Horse Expo, held June 8-10 in Sacramento, CA. Through a unique blend of demonstrations, expert techniques and humorous banter, Dunning and Avila combined their considerable talents to provide the crowds with the proven methods for training reining horses. In...

Buying a horse is a big challenge. Choosing a mount that doesn't fit your needs, skill level or intended use can be painful emotionally, financially and even physically. To give would-be horse owners information that will enable them to make decisions that will lead to years of equine enjoyment, Michigan State University's (MSU's) My Horse University has launched a new online course called "Horse Selection and Evaluation." In this self-paced course, participants will discover a wealth of...

David O'Connor accepting the 2007 Equine Industry Vision Award. (Diana DeRosa ) Albuquerque, NM— When it comes to promoting innovation and showing vision in the equestrian world, there are few people who are as adept at it as the United States Equestrian Federation’s own president, David O’Connor. And for his years of excellence as an equestrian athlete and his service to not only the Federation, but the equine industry as a whole, O’Connor was presented with the 2007...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be looking to crown a new reining champion on June 30th at 6:30 p.m. at the 2007 Adequan/USEF Open Reining National Championship. This event draws top reiners from around the country and is hosted by the Clayton Woosley Hall of Fame Reining at the Kentucky Horse Park. Matt Mills and Bobbie Cook’s horse, Easy Otie Whiz, won last year’s championship with a score of 231. The pair went on to be a member of the gold medal winning...

The Hagyard Challenge Series, a series of seven major show jumping competitions, will continue during the Kentucky Summer Horse Shows at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The first week of competition, the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, will be held from August 1-5, 2007, with the Kentucky Summer Classic following on August 8-12. The $30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic Grand Prix classes are scheduled for Thursday, August 2, and Thursday, August 9, in the Sheila C. Johnson Arena. The Hagyard...

The deadline for the first phase of ticket sales for the Beijing Olympics is approaching. Those interested in attending the Olympic Games can request tickets by JUne 30, 2007. Tickets will be available for purchase on a “live” basis later this year (currently an October launch of the Live Sales phase is anticipated). Additionally, hospitality packages (which include guaranteed tickets) and accommodations packages are currently being sold and will continue to be sold on a live first-come,...

Production East Video, along with leading online broadcaster MediaZone, announced they will be presenting live webcasts of the Lake Placid Horse Shows, including the Lake Placid Horse Show, to be held June 26-July 1, as well as the I Love New York Horse Show, to be held July 3-8. Live from the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, these webcasts are produced by Productions East Video and will be available by logging on to www.ProductionsEast.com or www.MediaZone.com/Channel/Equestrian/index.jsp . The...

A barn fire killed 25 American Saddlebreds and one half-Saddlebred at 3-T Stables, owned by the Tabor family in Scottsville, KY, on the morning of Tuesday, June 19. By the time the fire was noticed just before 7 a.m. at 3-T’s broodmare barn, it had become a “raging inferno,” according to 3-T Stables’ Paige Tabor. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Eight new foals, along with one broodmare still in foal, perished in the fire. Among them were Callaway’s Alice Blue Gown and unborn...

The Nigerian internet fraud, which has pounded U.S. e-mail accounts touting to make large money transfers in exchange for fees, has taken on a new spin with internet horse trailer sales. The increasing growth of equestrian websites offering free classified ads has provided an effective catalyst for the Nigerian scam artists to test their new scheme. Horse trailers have been targeted because they are high-ticket items. “We discovered it through first-hand experience,” stated Tom Scheve, CEO of...