Get ready!
Excitement is building as the Alltech FEI World Equestrian
Games in Kentucky draw closer by the day. Between the
competitions, the trade show and the Equine Village, the
lineup of activities from September 25 to October 10 offers
something for everyone.
Competitive events will include everything from dressage,
eventing and driving to jumping, vaulting, reining, endurance
and Para dressage. Entertainment will be provided by a stellar
cast of names such as Julie Goodnight, John Lyons, Pat Parelli
and Lynn Palm with her horse Rugged Painted Lark.
Equine Wellness will also have a presence at the event in the
form of “Agony to Ecstasy” writers Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne
Sheppard (Two as One Horsemanship), EWM Natural
Performer Craving Blue, and the Nokota Horse, an EWM
featured breed.
Jumper suspended
The equine community received a nasty shock in February when it
watched show jumper Michael Morrissey strike his horse Crelido
with a whip 13 times after he refused a water jump. Morrissey and
Crelido were participating in the CSI Grand Prix in Wellington,
Florida. The event was part of the USEF Show Jumping selection
trials for the upcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
A YouTube video of the incident later went viral among the hunter/
jumper community, prompting a widespread call for action. The U.S.
Equestrian Federation has since announced that Morrissey was fined
$3,000 and faces a three-month suspension. The suspension prohibits
Morrissey from attending any shows as a spectator or competitor, or
from participating in USEF activities. It also suspends all his horses
from competition.
A great success
In June, Canada’s Outdoor Shows Ltd. partnered with Equine Guelph
and the University of Guelph’s Arkell Research Station to bring
the first Canadian OutdoorEquine Expo to Guelph, Ontario.
The
province is home to approximately 350,000 horses and 80,000 horse
people, making it a great location for such an event. TheExpo drew
around 200 exhibitors, as well as clinicians and educators including
Karen Scholl, Jessica Phoenix and Ryan Gingerich.
Equine Guelph was especially happy with the outcome. They held
their gala fundraiser on the first night, during which guests were
treated to great food and live musical entertainment by Rockwood’s
Full Turnout Band. The organization also held silent and live auctions
that netted around $8,500 for their education programs.
The three trainers
Those anxiously waiting to buy tickets online for the 2011
Road to the Horse World Championship of Colt Starting
got the surprise of the year when they logged onto their
computers. One hour before tickets went on sale June 8, event
owner/producer Tootie Bland announced that legendary
natural horseman Pat Parelli will be stepping into the round
pens for the first time in the event’s history. Parelli will be
joined in competition by previously announced competitors
and two-time Road to the Horsechampions, Chris Cox and
Clinton Anderson.
Dubbed “The Legends”, the event takes place February 25 to 27 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It will mark the first time the three
biggest natural horsemanship clinicians in the world will face off against one another as they train unbroken colts to ride in just a
few short hours in front of a packed live audience and television cameras. Anderson and Cox competed against each other in the
2007 competition, but this will be the first time either has stepped into the arena against Parelli. roadtothehorse.com |