Volunteers from Kentucky and surrounding states flocked to Lexington on June 1 for the very first volunteer training session in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. This marks the beginning of general volunteer training which will span the month of June. “It went fabulously,” said Erin Faherty, director of volunteer services, about the first session. “The volunteers are very excited and they are beginning to realize that they not only represent themselves, the local...

Riders4helmets website aims to encourage more equestrians to wear helmets Leading equine digestive health product Succeed® has teamed up with helmet advocate Jeri Bryant to launch an online helmet awareness campaign— www.riders4helmets.com . The campaign is designed to educate equestrians on the benefits of wearing helmets. The Equestrian Medical Safety Association (EMSA) states that head injuries account for approximately 60% of deaths resulting from equestrian accidents. Approximately...

The F.A.C.E. Team Wins at the USEF Selection Trial (Carole Dwinell ) The race is on! For the first time this year, the five vaulting teams declared for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games met in competition. While this is the second of the five scheduled trials, it is the first where all the teams were present to compete. Individual numbers were up as well for a day of exciting competition. With an overall final score of 7.589, coach and lead out vaulter, Devon Maitozo of the winning F....

Photo by James Leslie Parker (Kelsey Thatcher and Milous De Fontaine.) Kelsey Thatcher had a fantastic weekend competing in Valencia, Spain, with Pony Lane Farm stallions Klotaire Du Moulin and Milous De Fontaine. Traveling through Europe along with the Global Champions Tour, Thatcher showed three days at the Gran Premio de Espana CSI** in Valencia on May 7-9, 2010. This was Thatcher's first time competing overseas, and she rode both of her horses to top finishes throughout the weekend. On...

"Why did gorgeous horses like those need new homes?" is a question frequently asked by disbelieving park visitors about the stunning black Arabian horses that recently arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park. An Arabian stallion and mare came to the park through a partnership with the Kentucky Equine Humane Center (KyEHC) and will soon go to work promoting the park's next international blockbuster exhibition, the $2.35 million "A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian...

Michael Blowen, the Founder and President of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Kentucky, is pleased to announce that the satellite facility, Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, will be the new permanent home of Bobby Frankel-trainee Gigli and famed New York-bred stallion Thunder Rumble. The first Old Friends auxiliary farm, Cabin Creek, is located just outside of Saratoga in Greenfield Center, NY, and is owned by Joann and Mark Pepper. In 1992, Thunder Rumble...

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...

Though the mantra of the day seemed to be "rain, rain, go away," eventers proved once again that they were more than fair-weather fans. The horses were beautifully turned out, rid of the manure stains they incurred overnight, and the crowd was bubbly in spirit. The day started out with the in hand portion for the four- and five-year-olds competing in the United States Eventing Association (USEA)/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse (YEH) Competition. The handlers were told by judge Charles Musco to...

Taylor Ann Adams bested the top junior talent in the nation by winning the 2009 Essex Classics/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Hunterdon Cup Equitation Class in Saugerties, NY. Adams of Memphis, TN, secured her victory in the third and final round of the prestigious equitation class after switching mounts with reserve champion Quincy Hayes. “Quincy helped me out in the schooling area before the final round,” Adams said. “Her horse was a lot of horse for me to ride and completely...

HITS, Inc., is pleased to announce the dates for the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit, held at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. The horse show circuit will run for six weeks and will also include an off week. There will be four World Cup qualifiers during the circuit, and it will feature special classes for riders of all levels in equitation, hunters, and jumpers. An added bonus for exhibitors this year is special circuit pricing packages, which will help exhibitors make their showing plans....