The American Youth Horse Council (AYHC) cordially invites individuals to submit proposals to speak at the 2009 National Youth Horse Leaders Symposium in Lincoln, NE, on March 27–29, 2009. The deadline for presentation proposals is September 15, 2008. This annual event, now in its 32nd year, presents an opportunity for leaders in the youth horse industry to come together to learn, network, share ideas and grow as an industry. The American Youth Horse Council is a network of academic, breed,...

Lexington, KY— The 2008 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) National Junior Hunter Championships-West Coast was conducted in three phases over the course of two days. The first two phases, the Under Saddle and the Handy Hunter, were held on August 12, and the third phase, the Classic Round, was held on August 13. The courses for the Classic Round and the Handy Hunter phase were both beautiful and challenging, designed by Scott Starnes. This was the first year that scores in the Classic...

Grand prix dressage rider Suzanne Dansby Bollman has returned to the FEI arena with her equine partner Cooper with great success. Bollman is a top international competitor that has been long- or short-listed with the USET for seven consecutive years. Cooper and Bollman have accumulated many impressive wins in their six years together. Two years ago, the pair was the U.S. team alternate at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Germany. This summer, Bollman and Cooper competed for the first time in...

Authentic (Shannon Brinkman) Hong Kong, China – Under the unsettled skies of the impending typhoon the individual medals were decided by not one but two jump-offs. America’s Beezie Madden and Authentic out ran six other combinations to be the fastest of the four faulters to win her first Indivdual medal. “In the Olympics there is usually a jump off for medals,” said Madden. “So we expected it. When it ended up being seven to jump off for the bronze it made for a...

The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) recently announced the recipient of this year’s Youth Achievement Award during the 2008 AMHA Awards Luncheon at the AMHA Annual Convention in Minneapolis, MN. The award, regarded as one of the most celebrated annual honors available through AMHA, went to Caralee Conklin of Gainesville, FL. Conklin, a lifetime Morgan enthusiast, is the current president of the AMHA Youth Council and has helped to expand and improve existing programs while providing...

Calling it one of the most significant welfare issues affecting any equine breed or discipline, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) issued recommendations for eliminating the abusive practice within the Tennessee Walking Horse industry known as soring. Soring is the infliction of pain to create an extravagant or exaggerated gait in horses for training or show purposes. Even though soring is prohibited by the federal Horse Protection Act of 1970, some within the industry...

The Southeastern Horse Sale will be held at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher, NC, right outside Asheville, on December 6, 2008. The Southeastern Horse Sale will provide a public auction of American Saddlebreds, Hackney and Harness Ponies, Morgans and Roadster Horses and Ponies. The Southeastern Horse Sale fills a need in the Southeast for a new venue to buy and sell Saddlebreds. Now buyers and sellers don't have to travel all the way to Kentucky to transact their...

A three-day course on investigating equine abuse and neglect is offered by the Kentucky Horse Council (KHC) in cooperation with Morehead State University (MSU), October 1-3, 2008. The class is part of the KHC horse welfare program and is designed for animal control officers, sheriffs, and other Kentucky law enforcement officials involved in investigating and prosecuting equine neglect and abuse. “We are committed to being part of the solution in support of better outcomes for neglected Kentucky...

The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) would like to congratulate the following Silver Medalists for their outstanding performances at horse shows across the country for the months of June and July: Kristin Chandler: Porter Corners, NY Hannah White: Delanson, NY Nellie Wich: Harshaw, WI Jacqueline Beck: Aliso Viejo, CA Taylor Sams: La Mesa, CA Stevie Watson: Tuttle, OK Samantha Winsett: Longmont, CA Raivenne Scott: Cornelius, OR Lauren Gorfinkle: Pleasanton, CA Kelsie Houghtaling:...

Kent Farrington of Wellington, FL, rode Up Chiqui to win the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix, the final event of the six-week Vermont Summer Festival held July 9-August 17 in East Dorset, VT. Twenty-four riders tackled course designer Pierre Jolicoeur’s track with eight jumping clear to advance to the jump-off where it all came down to the tightest turns. “I thought the first round was very friendly, just the right amount of riders went clear and we had a nice jump-off,” said...