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Do you have information about the horse industry in Virginia or Maryland?
Share with the 40,000+ Horse Talk Magazine readers and 100,000+ web site users!
Write to ads@horsetalkmagazine.com or fax us at (540) 548-0514
by February 10th for the March/April 2008 issue!!!
“Horse Health Half-Day”for Virginia Pony Club members
Virginia Tech’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center will host an educational event for Virginia Pony Club members on Saturday, January 12, 2008. The meeting, “Horse Health Half-Day,” will take place in the center’s library from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Presentations will be given by faculty members on a variety of equine healthcare topics, and a pizza luncheon will be served. The agenda will include: “Biosafety 101 - Win the War on Germs” by Dr. Martin Furr, Professor, and Adelaide C. Riggs, Chair in Equine Medicine; “Respiratory Disease in the Performance Horse” by Dr. Jennifer Brown, Clinical Assistant Professor in emergency care and equine surgery; “Gait Analysis - Seeing Your Way to Soundness” by Dr. Nat White; “Equine Emergencies - Don’t be Scared, be Prepared” by Dr. Sarah Dukti, Clinical Assistant Professor in emergency care and equine surgery; and “Caring for Foals - Be Aware of Proper Care” by Dr. Anne Desrochers, Clinical Assistant Professor in equine medicine.
No fee is charged for attending, but seating is limited and pre-registration is required. This event is limited to members of the Virginia Pony Club aged 12 through 18. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. To register, E-mail Marjorie Musick at mzmusick@vt.edu or call (703) 771-6881. In the event of a weather emergency, schedule changes will be posted online at www.equinemedicalcenter.net.
Artist Seeks Subjects for New Project
Port Republic, Virginia, Artist, Elaine Hurst, an American Academy of Equine Art Associate Member, is seeking equine subjects for a project titled “Virginia’s Finest Equines.” For this new endeavor, Hurst will create between 20-30 works of art featuring horses, mules, and donkeys from around the Old Dominion that people feel are special in some way.
“I want to capture the uniqueness of each equine I paint and will happily accept photographs of all breeds, colors, ages and disciplines as possible subjects for this new body of artwork,” said Hurst, who noted professional photographs may not be submitted without the written permission of the photographer.
There is no fee to submit an equine photo for consideration or if the photo is chosen as one of Hurst’s painting subjects. In addition, there is no obligation to purchase the resulting artwork. When “Virginia’s Finest Equines” is completed, the artwork will be exhibited and offered for sale during a one-woman show, as well as on Hurst’s Web site at www.elainehurst.com.
To submit equine photographs for possible inclusion in “Virginia’s Finest Equines”, contact Hurst by emailing elainehurst@mac.com or call (540) 234-8231. For more information about Hurst or to view galleries of her current artwork, visit www.elainehurst.com.
2007 VQHA Awards Banquet
The Virginia Quarter Horse Association (VQHA) Banquet planning is underway! The Banquet will be held March 7-8, 2008, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Staunton, Virginia. Visit www.vaquarterhorse.com for more information. They are collecting items for the silent auction. Please contact Michelle Pratt at (540) 891-7769 or tmpratt@comcast.net or Debbie Day at (540) 895-9047 if you would like to donate items to the auction and/or be a vendor.
VQHA Breeder’s Incentive Program
Stallion owners donate a breeding to many of the most fantastic stallions in the country to the VQHA Breeder’s Incentive Program (BIP) for a breeding season. VQHA offers these donated breedings to any mare owner at 60% of the advertised stud fee beginning on the first Monday of November for the next breeding season. This is a fabulous opportunity to breed your quality mare and get the most for your breeding dollar. The year following the breeding season, the VQHA BIP offers classes for all get of sold stallions at the VQHA Futurity Show using the proceeds of the sale to fund terrific awards.
Over $70,000 was awarded to Stallion owners and owners of 2007 BIP Futurity exhibitors.
Virginia Tech Horse Judging Team
Coming together as a team for the first time this fall, students on the VT Horse Judging Team targeted their efforts towards the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Horse Judging Contest on November 29-30, 2007 in Oklahoma City. This contest is recognized as one of the most difficult judging contests but it represents an opportunity to witness some of the most athletic horses and finest trainers in the industry for this new Olympic sport. The VT team placed eighth among 24 teams from across the Nation, ranging from California to Florida.
Reining horses exhibit explosive power in a pattern event of eight required maneuvers, including spins and sliding stops that must be scored individually. To prepare for the reining competition, the team traveled to the Ohio Quarter Horse Congress to volunteer for the horse judging contest and watch the more seasoned teams at work. At home they studied the NRHA Rule book and reining video tapes. A 2-day trip to Williamston, North Carolina, for scoring runs with three of the top judges in the industry was a real boost to the team’s knowledge and confidence for the task at hand.
In the 19th year for the NRHA Horse Judging Contest, a record number of teams gathered for the 2-day contest. The first day tested the competitors‘ knowledge of the rule book and ability to evaluate maneuver penalties on tape. The second day challenged the students to rank 2 sets of 10 horses competing for the non-pro title at the most prestigious reining horse show in the country. Scores for the contestants were correlated with the final scores from the five horse show judges for a major part of the team score. “The work ethic and dedication of this team throughout very long and intense hours of watching horses was admirable,” said Dr. Julia McCann, coach of the team. Being VT’s first time to compete in this contest against more experienced teams, the knowledge gained will pay dividends in the future horse judging contests.
Team members included: Sarah Barlow, Sr., Louisa, Virginia; Katrina Broas, Jr., Middletown, New York; Ben Craig, Jr., Raleigh, North Carolina; Morgan Nati, Jr., Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and Lindsey Williamson, Jr., Culpeper, Virginia. Under the leadership of Dr. Julia McCann, the team plans to knock on the barn doors of top facilities in VA as they prepare for the upcoming spring contests in Tennessee and Texas.
New Horse TV Lineup with Nicker Communication
Nicker Communications has set the initial program lineup for the December 15 launch of its online, on-demand equestrian television network: www.nickernetwork.com. With 25+ channels scheduled for activation within the first 45 days of its online service, the company will go live with 10 channels for its beta test launch.
Providing a wide selection of unique equestrian channels all dedicated to a variety of horse-oriented themes and subjects, NickerNetwork is the first Internet-based, on-demand multi-channel television network targeted to the horse world.
Initial channels include CowboyTV, DownTheStretchTV, Hunter/JumperTV, NaturalHorsemanshipTV, LongEarsTV, PegasusTV, PiaffeTV, TrainerTV, VetBarnTV, and WorldOfHorsesTV, to be followed shortly by CrossCountryTV, NoviceHorsemanTV, StadiumJumpingTV, Blinkers&TugsTV, HorseCareTV, the indvidual trainer channels and more.
Some of the featured programming will include the reining competition from the FEI 2006 World Equestrian Games, the 2007 European Championships in Dressage, Eventing, Show Jumping, and numerous original documentary and training series covering many aspects of the horse world. The variety of channels and programming will grow substantially during 2008 as the network creates its own original programs and series.
With program libraries representing hundreds of hours of high-quality television and video programming focused on the horse world and exclusive new program series being produced just for NickerNetwork, NickerTV presents a viable and potent alternative to traditional television networks for viewers.
Not only is the ad-supported NickerNetwork available at no cost to its viewers, but rental and purchase download options are available for every program.
Nicker Network will be available to anyone with a broadband connection anywhere in the world. Content providers, including producers specializing in all areas of equestrian lifestyles and disciplines, are invited to contact the company for program submission information.
Village Support Spurs Lucketts Rider to Victory at Rubicon Horse Trials
Leesburg, VA— Mary Gustafson of Lucketts, Virginia, just north of Leesburg up Route 15, is well-known throughout the local area, especially for her slow growth activism, her farm fresh eggs, talents and generosity as a graphic artist/owner of Daydream Design, her involvement and support of the Lucketts Fair, the Leesburg Garden Club, the Tri-State Riding Club, and just about any other community organization that needs a hand. As of Sunday, November 11, Gustafson can now add winner of the Rubicon Horse Trails Beginner Novice Rider division to her long list of achievements in the rural community which has been her home for 27 years. She rode her 15-year-old Thoroughbred named “Apple” to victory in the 3-phase event, which included a dressage test, a stadium jumping event, and a cross-country jumping event.
What makes this story so special is that Gustafson, 52, hadn’t competed in an event in over 12 years and had a 15-year break from competition prior to that. “Riding and competing has been stop-and-start sort of thing for me,” said Gustafson, who with her husband Peter raised two boys and sent the youngest to college this fall. With an empty nest and support from her riding club Tri-State, Gustafson was motivated to train toward the fall Rubicon Horse Trails, held last weekend, at the world class equestrian facility on Lucketts Road.
She certainly had the biggest fan club, as a dozen or so neighbors and their families came out to enjoy a beautiful day of sport and to cheer on their friend. The “Team Apple” supporters wore hand painted apples on their cheeks and were enthusiastically vocal with their applause.
Apple was a freebie, given to Gustafson 6 years ago. He was a handful to start but, she lovingly trained him to be a willing athlete. He is a “gift,” she said, “he won it. Apple really gave to me in his moment.” Gustafson also gives credit to the wonderful instructors at the Tri-State Riding Club, which offers members weekly lessons at Morven Park (http://www.tristaterc.org).
Judi Novak of Purcellville, Virginia, is one of the instructors in the program who worked extra hard with Gustafson and Apple over the summer, helping them train for the event. “I have to give credit to Tri-State and Judi and the other great instructors, Sharon White and Allison Springer, offered to us through the club. If it weren’t for the club, I never would have been motivated to try and make a comeback at this sport now,” she said. Gustafson also is grateful for all her friends and neighbors who she trains with regularly. “The support here was wonderful, overwhelming really. It does take a village to do something like this and I’m grateful to everyone for their help.”