A black Shetland Pony who closely resembles the pony Little Black in the Walter Farley book Little Black, A Pony has a new home with the Black Stallion Literacy Foundation at Arabian Nights in Orlando, FL. Thanks to the donation of the pony by the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), thousands of children involved in the literacy program will have the chance to meet Little Black in person. The Black Stallion Literacy Foundation has helped motivate hundreds of thousands of children to enjoy...

Iron Spring Farm's three-year-old homebred Friesian stallion, Pilgrim ISF, was awarded the prestigious First Premie Star designation and was selected for KFPS stallion testing during the Friesian Horse Association of North America (FHANA) KFPS keuring on September 29, 2008. Iron Spring Farm's success during the keuring also includes Pilgrim's dam, Toltsje fan't Boekehof, receiving an 82.5 on her IBOP (performance) test to earn the prestigious Model designation. She also received the Champion...

Four-time Olympian Phillip Dutton, Olympic Nutritionist Dr. Joe Pagan and United States Olympic Team Veterinarian Dr. Brendan Furlong will share their nutritional insights and equine competition experiences from Hong Kong at a feature presentation “The Olympic Story” at the United States Equestrian Team Foundation at 1040 Pottersville Road on Wednesday, October 22, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Located at historic Hamilton Farm, home of the United States Equestrian Team, the event is presented by...

The Reining Horse Sports Foundation (RHSF) honors leadership and achievement within the National Reining Horse Youth Association (NRHyA) each year. The RHSF recently awarded five $1,000 scholarships to current National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) and former NRHyA members based on financial need and academic achievement. The 2008 RHSF Scholarship winners are: Ian Barnard, Brandon Boyle, Allison Byrd, Ashley Fuchs and Helen Lauth. Ian Barnard, from Kendallville, IN, majors in pre-veterinary...

The American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) National Championship Show announced the two winning young authors of the Youth Essay Contest in Tulsa, OK, this month. The 2008 winners were Katherine Richey and Allison Payne, each of who was awarded a Miniature horse for their efforts. The Youth Essay Contest was open to all current junior members of the AMHR. In the 13 to 17 age group, Katherine Richey from Meridian, MS, wrote a charming piece on why she would be the best person to win the...

Two lucky youths won big with a small equine prize. At the American Shetland Pony Congress this month, two American Shetland ponies were awarded to winners of two youth essay contests. Youths from around the country exercised their writing skills for the chance to win one of these amazing Shetland ponies. Entries were numbered and judged anonymously. Kimberly Cotter was the lucky winner of E’s Sir Nite and Kasey Waxler of Pennsylvania was awarded Cross Country’s Mr. Banker. Kimberly Cotter, the...

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...

Diamante Farms of Wellington, FL, is pleased to announce that Michelle Gibson will compete Don Angelo, the farm's eight-year-old Oldenburg stallion, at the 2008 USEF National Intermediaire I Championship during the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions. The event will be held in San Juan Capistrano, CA, on June 21-22 and June 27-29, with the Intermediaire I championship scheduled for the second weekend. Gibson, a 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Team Bronze medalist, is head trainer at...

At the Kentucky International Equine Summit Olympic Gold medalist David O’Connor urged the disparate elements of America’s horse industry to work in concert to improvement promotion in the sport. He said that the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) gives America’s horse community a unique opportunity to reach a large segment of the public. The WEG is to be held in September in Lexington, Ky. He made his remarks on Tuesday at the Kentucky International Equine Summit, sponsored jointly...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation is pleased to announce that the following riders have been invited and have elected to compete at the World Endurance Championship Test Event in Malaysia, November 9-11, 2007. Unlike the Championships (scheduled for November 2008) where the Federation sends a team based on a selection procedure that is recommended by the High-Performance Discipline Committee and approved by the Federation, riders attending the Test Event were invited by...