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...

American Quarter Horse Racing World Champion Be A Bono has moved to the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions. Be A Bono earned American Quarter Horse racing’s top honor when he was named the World Champion of 2004. He also earned champion three-year-old and champion three-year-old gelding honors for 2004. Owned and bred by the late Spencer Childers of Fresno, CA, the sorrel gelding was trained by Dan Francisco. Be A Bono was foaled February 22, 2001, and retired from racing as a...

On October 22, the Junior Hunter divisions began competing at the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), held at the Verizon Center through Sunday, October 25. Kelsey Thatcher took an early lead in the Older Junior Hunter divisions, winning the first class of the Small Junior 16-17 Hunter division. Earlier in the day, Hasbrouck Donovan stole the show, earning two blue ribbons in the Younger Junior Hunter classes. The Older Junior Hunter divisions got under way late that morning, and it was...

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...

Lexington, KY - "Safety" is one of the most important words in the equestrian vocabulary. And to that point, the combined efforts of University of Kentucky HealthCare, the university’s College of Agriculture, Kentucky Horse Park organizations and other businesses have kicked off an education awareness campaign entitled "Saddle Up Safely." The announcement was made at the Kentucky Horse Park today, and dignitaries and equestrians were on hand to take part and promote the importance of safe...

Kona Gold, winner of the 2000 Eclipse Award for Sprinter of the Year was humanely euthanized at the Kentucky Horse Park on the morning of September 29 after suffering a severe fracture to his left front leg while exercising in his paddock. He was 15-years-old. Within minutes of the accident, he was taken to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for evaluation where it was determined by the surgical staff that his injury was beyond repair. The unanimous decision to euthanize was made by the surgeons,...

Sunday is not end of show -- After congratulations are given, ribbons handed out and horses in the boxes, the work continues. Horses are washed, the barn broken down and the camps are disassembled. Slowly competitors start to leave and the feeling of the win gets lost in the rush to get packed. It's a strange feeling to be a member of a team that just won the most prestigious driving event leading up to the world games. It feels almost surreal. The team was turned out in flawless fashion...

I have said good-bye to Kentucky and am making my way home to sunny California. I'm looking forward to being dry for an entire day! During the first leg of my journey, I thought about the past week and the memories I will be taking home with me. I thought about the Lexington area and the Horse Park, about not only how beautiful it is, but how there is so much to see there and I didn't see a fraction-I will have to go back when I can spend several days and see everything. I thought about...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) website will once again provide a live streaming video webcast of the 2009 All American Horse Classic (AAHC), set to take place beginning Tuesday, September 8, through Saturday, September 12, in Indiana, at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds. Registration to view the webcast may be completed via the ASHA website at www.asha.net/video . The fee to view the Webcast is $15 per day/location. A discount is available to ASHA members, resulting in fees...

This past weekend, Canterbury Farm in Hampshire, IL, hosted a clinic for the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Emerging Athletes Program. Held on Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6, the clinic was conducted by renowned equestrians Melanie Smith Taylor and Ray Texel. Diane Carney of Hampshire, IL, was the on-site coordinator for the event, which was a Level II Training Session. The clinic was part of the Emerging Athletes Program, an educational program that focuses on...