In a “down” economy, some things are still on the way up. Membership in the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) reached an all-time record high of 20,255, on November 4, 2009, according to NCHA Executive Director Jeff Hooper. “We are especially pleased to have reached this milestone in 2009, during a stressful year for the national and world economy,” Hooper said. “And with recent reports of economic growth and recovery, we expect to surpass this new record in 2010.” Cutting horse...

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is proud to announce the creation of the NRHA Show Steward Program to begin in 2010. The first certification of NRHA Show Stewards will be held during the January 22-24, 2010 NRHA Judges School in Oklahoma City. The NRHA Board of Directors approved this trend-setting program at its August 2009 meeting with the intent to train and certify individuals to assist show management and judges with the interpretation of rules when necessary, to observe the...

Congratulations to 12-year-old Katerina Barrett of Middletown, MD, who was announced October 17 as the 2009 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA)/Team Morgan "Win a Morgan Horse" Contest winner. Barrett will soon meet her new Morgan horse, CBMF Phoenix (DBA Street Talk x Treble's Wild Memories), graciously donated by Ann Hailey of Copper Beech Morgan Horse Farm in New Albany, OH. Barrett is a seventh grader who likes riding, playing soccer and the piano, and running. She takes lessons with...

The Swedish Warmblood Association of North America (SWANA) is pleased to announce the 2009 Sweden Equestrian Tour. SWANA and its parent organization, ASVH, and SwedeHorse are hosting an equestrian tour of southern Sweden from October 11-19, 2009. If you love horses, this is one of the most fun and educational tours you could imagine. Sweden is one of the most horse-centered countries in the world; their National Stud farm, Flyinge, is one of the oldest in Europe, and Sweden was the founding...

The Public Auction Task Force of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has developed recommendations regarding the use of radiographic reports as part of the pre-purchase exams that are conducted on horses for sale at public auctions. The goal of the task force is to promote ethical practices during the sales process, particularly at Thoroughbred auctions. “We view our recommendations as a ‘best practices’ approach that is applicable to veterinarians as well as buyers and...

(Lexington, KY)— During the week of June 2-7, the Egyptian Event is held in Lexington at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Egyptian Event is an unusual show, and aptly named as it is much more than a horse show, it’s an Event. The Event is known for tough competition, open only to Arabian horses of Egyptian breeding. Over six days of showing, three hundred internationally owned horses compete in 60 classes for over $200,000 in prize money. But the Event is known for much more than beautiful horses...

The 2009 Nominating Committee of the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) has conducted its organizational meeting under the direction of Dr. Margaret C. McNeese, Chairman. Also on the committee are Nancy Boone, Barbara Molland, Shirley Trail, and Art Zubrod. The purpose of the committee is to prepare recommendations for ASHA directors to be elected to three-year terms beginning in February 2010. The Nominating Committee directed ASHA staff to undertake all possible means to solicit...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced that Henk van Bergen has signed on as the featured presenter at the 2010 Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers’ Conference, presented by SmartPak, to be held January 18-19, 2010 in Loxahatchee, FL. Each year, USDF offers a trainers’ conference to those individuals who meet the attendee criteria to learn training techniques and study with a world class dressage trainer. Born as the son of a baker in Nijmegen, Holland, Van Bergen started his career...

The All American Cup (AAC) is set to host the 2009 AAC Stallion Review. The event will take place on Friday, July 10, and will include a tour to several notable Saddlebred stables to view AAC stallions, broodmares and foals. Tour participants will meet at the American Saddlebred Museum, located at the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington, KY. A continental breakfast will be available for tour guests at the museum from 6:00-7:30 a.m. While at the museum, those in attendance will have the...

The Sport Horse Nationals Payback Program 2009 is proving to be just the ticket for breeders again in 2009. With deep discounts on the stud fees of almost 300 stallions of all breeds, Payback is the “go to” resource in today’s economic climate. Included in the offered stallion services are world class Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Anglo-Arabians, Saddlebreds, Welsh, Friesians, Hackneys, Quarter Horses and others. Many are national or world champions, or have sired champions. Total number...