Mason Phelps, Kiki Umla and Pedro Cebulka at the Taylor Harris Club at the 2011 Alltech National Horse Show
Catching up: Actress Glenn Close sold her townhouse in Wellington and left town, Jose Lambiet is reporting in his online column http://www.gossipextra.com. Seems daughter Annie Starke has given up on the horses and is following her mother’s interests in acting. Broadway is what we hear…
Cathy and Rick Cram celebrated their 20th anniversary with a lovely party at the Willcox Hotel in Aiken. 20 years is long time and even longer in the horse business!
Finally, a much needed tack store is opening in Delray Beach. Bits, Bridles & Boots opened November 12th at 16145 St Road 7. Check it out!
Lida Bard says that she was emptying the leaves from the skimmers and vacuum and lost her balance and fell in the pool with her full length outback coat, muck boots and cell phone! Lida said “Did Nick notice I fell in? No. Did he ask if I was hurt? No. Did he complain I ruined the cell phone? Yes!!!” Must’ve been a vision, though…
Congratulations to Aiken resident trainer, Mary Ann Parmelee, who received the 2011 USHJA Southeast Affiliates Trainer of the Year Award.
Equine Law columnist Lisa Hollister checked in to say that while at the Washington International Horse Show she had a great time seeing old friends Kate Levy, Mindy Darst and Page Tredenick. It was particularly nice for Mindy that her daughter Maddy did so well, especially since she was just recuperating from a recent surgery.
Dini Jones moved fromOhio to Aiken and seems to be lovin’ it. She now owns Equine Devine, a cool horse-tchotchke shop downtown on Laurens. Dini is definitely a great addition to the community!
Congratulations to Larry Byers and Joey Peace, named joint masters of Aiken Hounds on Thanksgiving Day. Aiken Hounds celebrated their 97th opening meet this year, making it one of the older hunts in the nation.
Wedding bells: Keri Kampsen and Will Meierfeld were married November 18, 2011. Finally! They met when Keri was 14 and Will 16, while riding in the Juniors.
Jack Robson, the long time FEI & USEF Jumper Judge and Course Designer, and his long time girlfriend Charlotte Skinner, also an FEI and USEF Jumper Judge, both finally got over their fear of commitment and were married during the recent Las Vegas National Horse Show. It was about time, since they have been a couple for centuries (or so it seems).
New baby department: On November 3, Jane and Cameron Macleod were blessed with the birth of their son, Ruairi (Rory) George Macleod. He weighed 7lbs. 14 oz. and mother, son and dad are all doing well, but probably not sleeping much.
Horse Show News: Equestrian Sport Productions sent in their formal Expression of Interest to host the 2018 World Equestrian Games at thePalm BeachInternationalEquestrianCenter inWellington,Florida. The Expression of Interest documents are the first step towards submitting a bid to host the FEI World Equestrian Games. The FEI reports that at press time, a total of 8 national federations have filed Expressions of Interest.
Wow is all we can say about the Alltech National Horse Show this year – it was truly the rebirth of the National! We don’t go to many shows where everyone is happy and full of praise! Hugh Kincannon and his staff really stepped up to the plate to make this event special. Those who speculated that Hugh couldn’t pull it off were wrong! We hear next year will really be over the top so put this event (Oct. 31st to Nov 4th) on your calendar now.
Congratulations to Jessica Springsteen who was awarded the Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider title at this year’s Alltech National Horse Show inLexington,Kentucky. Jessica is one of this nation’s rising stars for sure.
We hear from Eurospy that the show jumpers are still not happy with the surface to be used at the 2012 Olympics after a second round of tests suggested the going was still “too heavy”. Olympic organizer LOCOG confirmed work will be done before the surface is tested for a third time later this year, at a private venue. It will be again tested on a raised platform to replicate the Games conditions.
At the official Olympic test event in Greenwich Park in July, show jumpers complained that the surface was “heavy” and “pudding-like” and at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in October the surface was tested again, this time by eight top show jumpers — who LOCOG declined to name — where the feedback was similar.
A new color scoreboard appeared one night at the Las Vegas National horse show. Chris Nolder teamed up with Larry Langer to provide scoreboard services to the West Coast horse shows. Not only does it boast to have 58 billion colors, but it will also show up to 30 second color video clips.
There is big news on the West Coast horse show horizon for the year end.
It seems that Blenheim Equisports and Langer Equestrian Group have teamed up to create a West Coast Indoor Circuit by moving some of their shows around. The last three weeks before Thanksgiving will boast the National Preview, the Los Angeles National, and the Las Vegas National, in that order. It’s a great way to finish the year out west to the benefit of all the Hunter/Jumper competitors.
Following on the heels of the very successful NAJYRC at theKentuckyHorsePark in July, the USHJA Children’s and Adult Championships are being created to provide a team experience for those who jump a little lower. Zones will be asked to send Children’s and Adult Amateur teams to compete for National Championships in these divisions.
Bumps and bruises: Lauren Hough suffered a fall during the first qualifier of the Stuttgart German Masters on Nov. 17. Her 9 year old mare Blue Angel got too close to a wall and attempted to jump anyway, crashing through the fence. After Lauren fell, the mare stepped on her chest. While she was conscious and walked out of the ring with assistance, Lauren then went to the hospital, accompanied by her close friend, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. Lauren underwent emergency surgery for a collapsed lung and broken ribs.
Kim Herrick is fighting a battle with brain cancer, and we wish her a speedy and complete recovery. Go to www.kimherrick.org to donate.
Horses: Flexing, the 12 year old full sister to top Rich Fellers’ show jumper Flexible, has been sold out of Ireland and will compete next season on the U.S. West Coast circuit. The 16.1-hand bay mare has been purchased by Claudia and Lloyd Thorsrud and is likely to be ridden by Ireland’s Damien Gardiner.
Abigail Wexner has purchased top show jumper BMC Van Grunsven Simon for Beezie Madden to compete. BMC Van Grunsven Simon, a 12 year old Dutch Warmblood gelding was very successful with Dutch rider Jeroen Dubbeldam riding. He and Dubbeldam were third in the Rolex Show Jumping World Cup Final (Germany) this spring and won the $899,746 CN International at Spruce Meadows last year. Dubbeldam and Simon also won the Rolex Grand Prix of Verona CSI-W (Italy) last fall.
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