Pony Club Championships Welcome Adult Members to Compete

June 1, 2012 (Lexington, KY) – Pony Club’s Adult Horsemasters members are being offered the opportunity to qualify for, and compete at the 2012 Championships Competition.  Both East Championships held in Lexington VA July 25-29, and West Championships held in Cle Elum, WA August 7-10 have extended the offer to Horsemasters members to compete at Championships right along with the youth members.  Current members of the Horsemasters Program must qualify in the discipline of their choice and will then compete in either, Dressage, Eventing, Show Jumping or Tetrathlon.  Like the youth members, adult participants will be judged on their Horse Management skills and they will share tack and feed stalls with fellow Horsemasters members.  Unlike the youth competitors, the Horsemasters members will compete as individuals rather than team members and will ride against the other participating adults.   “Taking an inventory of our resources, one sees at the top of the list a large group of competent individuals who serve the Pony Clubs in many capacities, from District Commissioner and local committee member to national officer or member of a national board. Here lies our greatest asset – people; people dedicated to helping children to enjoy a way of life with horses and ponies, which has meant so much as a part of their own lives.” Sherman P. Haight, Jr., M.F.H. USPC President, 1961-1963   About the Horsemasters Program – Started in 2001, the USPC Horsemasters Program was developed to meet the needs of Pony Club parents and other adults to learn more about horses, to feel comfortable around the animals and secure in their knowledge about horsemanship and riding skills, thereby becoming more empowered volunteers to Pony Club at the local, regional and national levels. Horsemasters Groups may be formed in affiliation with a Pony Club, a Riding Center or a Region, and are open to anyone, who is not a current Participating Member, 18 years of age or older.
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Upperville – Shady News Tuesday A.M.

WELCOME TO THE 159th UPPERVILLE  COLT & HORSE SHOW! We love Upperville and while we have not had the pleasure of showing at Upperville, we’ve known some great riders and horses who have performed under the oaks in the hunter rings and across the street in the jumper rings. There is state of the art footing in the main jumper ring – we think that Tommy Lee Jones, show manager par excellent, has done a fantastic job. We had just a moment to say hello to Tommy yesterday – he’s so busy all the time, but if you know him, give him a warm hello, because he and all his people, volunteers and staff, put their hearts and souls into making Upperville a great great show. Here are two links to visit: WUSA9.com story about Upperville and a WUSA9.com Upperville slide show of photos by Teresa Ramsey, official Upperville photographer (with seven taken by yours truly at the end!)
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Victory caps convincing Borde Hill weekend for Halliday

Liz at the Borde Hill Horse Trails in the UK An excellent showing from each of her four horses helped Liz Halliday produce a sensational Eventing performance at Borde Hill Horse Trials last weekend that included victory in her BE100 section. Just 30 minutes from her base at Chailey Stud Equestrian Centre in East Sussex, Borde Hill offered Liz the ideal opportunity to give four of her less experienced horses a run after a largely washed-out month of May. That ‘home advantage’ certainly seemed to help Benny (Benaughlin Little Hero) who dominated his BE100 section on Saturday thanks to an overall score of just 27.4. Having not competed since mid-April, Liz was particularly pleased with his all-round performance which included a strong Dressage, clear Show Jumping and near-perfect Cross Country round that featured just 0.4 time fault points. Sunday saw Halliday’s remaining horses entered in Novice sections and once again all three were in terrific form
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AHP Conference: Counting Down to Awards Dinner

Okay, we’ll admit it. We don’t know how to relax. We think that we have been racing from deadline to deadline for so many years that we have totally forgotten how to relax and enjoy “leisure” – and that’s what this conference is, compared to our real life. This is leisure.
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Lustre of the Gemstone

Thursday night prior to winning the Grand Prix, McLain Ward formally retired his two-time Olympic gold medal partner, Sapphire.  He rode the 16 year old chestnut mare into the ring through to the awards section where she stood while the announcer read her list of accomplishments, and then Ward dismounted, removed the saddle, replacing it with a white sheet embroidered with her name.  He took her past the grandstand where her fans could get up close to admire her, then walked back out the “in gate”, into the warm up ring, and down to the far end nearest the stabling area.  As he handed her off to a waiting groom, in the distance I could see his hand move to his bowed head and it was clear that he was wiping away a tear.                      
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Polo Team Representing the U.S. Displays Strong Performance Against England in St. Regis International Cup

St Regis International, England vs USA. Photo Credit © Tony Ramirez/www.imagesofpolo.com Wellington, Fla. (May 21, 2012) –  There was plenty of action in Saturday’s 5 th annual St
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2012 Live Oak Hounds USPC Foxhunting Challenge Award

May 10, 2012 (Lexington, KY) - The sixth annual Live Oak Hounds USPC Foxhunting Challenge Award is made possible through the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. C. Martin Wood III, Joint Masters of the Live Oak Hounds in Monticello, Florida, and Past Presidents of the MFHA. The Award is designed to encourage Pony Club members who do not regularly hunt to try the sport, and to reward members who hunt on a regular basis to act as mentors to the less-experienced Pony Club members. $10,000 in awards will go to top six Pony Clubs who regularly take the greatest number of active Pony Club members out hunting. Congratulations to the following Challenge winners: 1 st place           Red Rock Hounds Pony Club in Nevada 2 nd Place          Blue Mountain Pony Club in Maryland 3 rd Place           Old Dominion Hounds Pony Club in Virginia 4 th Place           Millbrook Pony Club in New York 5 th Place           Elkridge-Harford Pony Club in Maryland 6 th Place           Silver Springs Pony Club in Missouri/Illinois Honorable Mention goes to the following participating clubs:   Carbon Hooves Pony Club (WA), Genesee Valley Pony Club (NY), Goldens Bridge Hounds Pony Club (NY), Greenville Foothills Pony Club (SC), Mendon Pony Club (NY), South Creek Pony Club (FL), Wayne-DuPage Pony Club (IL)   Hunts that participated in the Challenge were:   Wayne-DuPage Hunt, Red Rock Hounds, Blue Mountain Hunt, Old Dominion Hounds, Blue Ridge Hunt, Middleburg Hunt, Millbrook Hunt, Elkridge-Harford Hunt, Shawnee Hounds, Woodbrook Hunt, Genesee Valley Hunt, Goldens Bridge Hounds, Green Creek Hounds, Genesee Valley Hunt, Live Oak Hounds, South Creek Fox Hounds   A total of 127 Pony Club members participated in the Live Oaks Hounds USPC Fox Hunting Challenge, and together, they logged more than 1,000 days spent enjoying the sport of Fox Hunting!   About MFHA - The Masters of Foxhounds Association of America was formed in 1907 and is the governing body of organized fox, coyote, other acceptable legal quarry and drag hunting in the United States and Canada.  The MFHA’s main activities are: the promotion of the sport; the publication of a Foxhound Stud Book; the recognition of organized Hunts which have met its standards; the recordation of countries and boundaries for organized hunting establishments; and the registration of Hunts as a preliminary step toward recognition
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Of Horses and Ghosts

"Webster" photo by Debbie Garside‘ ‘It is 4:30am on the third day of this, my second expedition to Sable Island. Even though I lay in bed in the relative comfort of my second story room at the coast guard station, I have taken to wearing long johns under my pajamas with a down sweater on top. A powerful “nor’easter” blew in last night and the moderately well-built sleeping quarters are no match for it. The doors rattle and no matter how high I push the thermostat, the north side of the house is cold
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Rolex in Retrospect: Beverly Equestrian Toasts Allison Springer, Karen O’Connor & Marilyn Little-Meredith

Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event provided the first major step in the US team selection process for the 2012 Olympics. Several riders made incredible bids for their ticket to London and on May 6 Beverly Equestrian Center (The Plains, VA) celebrated the three eventers for their rides ’round Rolex. Marilyn Little-Meredith, Allison Springer and Karen O'Connor celebrate Rolex and their quest to make the US 3-day team for the London Olympics this August with a congenial crowd at Beverly Equestrian Center. © Lauren R Giannini   Allison Springer & Arthur – they broke through several years of bad luck and misfortune to finish second overall and the best of the Americans to win the USEF National Four-Star championship. In the event that Allison & Arthur make the team, this will be their first Olympics.
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SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ Promotion Comes to Kentucky

  Lexington,Kentucky– The SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion, offering $30,000 in bonus money, will be offered at the 2012 Kentucky Horse Shows held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.  Riders wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves with the SSG horse head logo clearly visible during all rounds of competition in designated events are eligible for the bonus. The first show to feature the SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ bonus promotion will be the Kentucky Spring Horse Show CSI3* scheduled for May 9-13, 2012.  The designated SSG Gloves classes will be Friday’s $50,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, Sunday’s $10,000 Junior Jumper Classic, and Sunday’s $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix.  Both of the grand prix classes held during the Kentucky Spring Horse Show are part of the 2012 U.S. Show Jumping Team Observation Events. The following week of competition, the Kentucky Spring Classic CSI2* from May 16-20, features the SSG ‘Go Clean for the Green’ bonus promotion for Thursday’s $32,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, Saturday’s $75,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix sponsored by Audi of Lexington, and Sunday’s $10,000 Junior Jumper Classic. “The SSG ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion has become very popular in Wellington over the past two seasons, and we are looking forward to expanding the program to Kentucky,” said Ed James, President of SSG Gloves.  “With six weeks of top competition in Kentucky, which allows any bonus money not awarded to carry forward to the next show, we hope to build the same level of momentum and popularity that we have experienced in Florida.” The following classes are included in the SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ bonus promotion: Kentucky Spring Horse Show CSI3* – May 9-13, 2012 Friday, May 11 – $50,000 HagyardLexingtonClassic Sunday, May 13 – $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix Sunday, May 13 – $10,000 Junior Jumper Classic Kentucky Spring Classic CSI2* – May 16-20 Thursday, May 17 – $32,000 HagyardLexingtonClassic Saturday, May 19 – $75,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix Sunday, May 20 – $10,000 Junior Jumper Classic   Summer Horse Show – July 25-29 Thursday, July 26 – $25,000 HagyardLexingtonClassic Saturday, July 28 – $50,000KentuckySummer Grand Prix Sunday, July 29 – Junior Jumper Classic Summer Classic – August 1-5 Thursday, August 2 – $25,000 HagyardLexingtonClassic Saturday, August 4 – $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix Sunday, August 5 – Junior Jumper Classic   Kentucky Bluegrass Classic – August 15-19 Friday, August 17 – $25,000 HagyardLexingtonClassic Sunday, August 19 – $50,000BluegrassFestival Grand Prix Sunday, August 19 – Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic Kentucky Hunter Jumper Horse Show – August 22-26 Friday, August 24 – $10,000 HagyardLexingtonClassic Sunday, August 26 – $30,000 KHJA Grand Prix Sunday, August 26 – Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic In the designated grand prix events, a $2,000 bonus will be awarded to the winning rider if they are wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves in all rounds of competition.  If the bonus is not awarded, it will carry forward to the next grand prix event, bringing the total bonus offered to $4,000, $6,000, etc. In the designated junior and junior/amateur-owner events, a $1,000 bonus will be awarded to the winning rider if they are wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves in all rounds of competition.  If the bonus is not awarded, it will carry forward to the next event in the series, bringing the total bonus offered to $2,000, $3,000, etc. Bonus money won in the SSG Riding Gloves  ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion will be presented directly to the winning rider during the award presentations in front of the SSG Riding Gloves signature sponsor jump
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