Feb 21, 2012
Andres Rodriguez picks up his second victory of the week in Sunday’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS Ocala
Ocala, FL
Venezuelan rider Andres Rodriguez had an unbelievable week at HITS Ocala. On Thursday, he won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, and came back three days later to take first again in Sunday’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. Both wins came aboard Caballito, owned by ARAO Enterprises LLC. Rodriguez seems to have his sights locked on making it to this year’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix.
Rodriguez, now of Wellington, Florida, was one of 37 competitors to navigate the course designed by International Course Designer Martin Otto of Munster, Germany. More info...
Feb 21, 2012
Kate Conover and Peron win the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix at HITS Ocala, while Caroline Sykes captures the $1,500 HITS 3’ Hunter Prix
Ocala, FL
Kate Conover and Redfield Farm’s Peron captured the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix on Sunday. Conover, a professional rider for Emil Spadone, finished in third place last September at the inaugural Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final. As one of the most talented riders in the sport today, Conover is once again on the path towards America’s richest hunter class.
Excitement was in the air as 61 entries navigated a first round course designed by Doug Russell of Ocala, Florida. The second round featured the 12 top professionals of the day, eager to secure the blue ribbon with the best overall two-round score. More info...
Feb 21, 2012
Your horse ate WHAT?
USA
Abnormal or unusual eating behavior is not uncommon in horses and may be of concern to a horse owner. Foals frequently nibble at manure, which is one way the microbial population of the gut is established. It does not look attractive, but may be normal investigative behavior. Other unusual eating behavior includes chewing on fences or stall walls, eating bark off trees, chewing on their stable mate’s tails and eating dirt. In some species, the term “pica” is used to indicate consuming unusual food. Except for salt, and perhaps phosphorus, there has been limited information to document that horses have nutritional wisdom for selecting nutrients. They can select and consume plants that taste better than other plants.
If a horse is demonstrating unusual eating behavior, the following check list might be useful in determining what factors may be driving the behavior:
More info...
Feb 21, 2012
What have you and your horse working on lately? Whether its something simple or...
Clinton Anderson
Tip #1: Fix the cause, not the symptoms.
The majority of horse “problems” (such as bucking, rearing, biting, and pawing) aren’t really problems at all; they’re really just symptoms of a cause. Seventy to eighty percent of all the problems you’ll ever have to deal with as a horse owner will fix themselves if you do the ground work and earn your horse’s respect.
Don’t become so focused on your horse’s undesirable behavior that they you can’t see what’s actually causing it. It’s like a weed growing in the ground. You can chop it off with a weed whacker, but two weeks later, it’ll grow right back, because the root system is still intact. To kill the weed, you need to pour weed killer on it to kill the root system. When you kill the roots, the weed will die. More info...
Feb 21, 2012
Managing Severe Colic in the Field (AAEP 2011)
Horse Health
According to a recent poll on TheHorse.com, nearly 49% of respondents named colic as their most feared horse health emergency, and for a good reason. While some cases resolve without incident, others prove deadly. Colic surgery is an option for owners in some severe colic cases, but what if referral isn't possible?
David Freeman, MVB, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, professor and interim chair of Large Animal Surgery at the University of Florida, provided some insight on treating severe cases in the field during a presentation at the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas.
More info...
Feb 20, 2012
Used Saddles
Western and English Saddles
Barrel racing, ranch, cutting, reining saddles, trail, show, roping, endurance, Australian, English, roping, and all around saddles. Free ground shipping.
More info...
Feb 20, 2012
David McPherson Captures Top Two Spots in the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
Wellington, FL
As the sixth week of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival begins to wrap up, the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m took place today in the Mogavero ring. David McPherson of Great Britain rode Silver Exchange II for the win and Leonitas for second place. Nicolas Pizarro (MEX) and Saskia finished in third place. Junior and Amateur-Owner hunter champions also received
Week six of the FTI WEF, sponsored by Equine Couture/Tuff Rider will run through February 19. The $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper Derby is the highlight event on Sunday at The Stadium at 3 p.m. The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012, and they will be awarding more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit. More info...
Feb 20, 2012
Victoria Colvin and Way Cool Jump to the Top of the $50,000 WCHR Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular
Wellington, FL
The $50,000 WCHR Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular was held under the lights at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival on Saturday night with an exciting victory for 14-year-old Victoria Colvin riding Dr. Betsee Parker's Way Cool. The pair edged out last year's winners, Louise Serio and Bryan Baldwin's Castle Rock, who finished second. Colvin also took home third place honors riding Inclusive, owned by Scott Stewart. Elizabeth Boyd and Brunello finished fourth after a win in the first round.
Week six of the FTI WEF, sponsored by Equine Couture/Tuff Rider will run through February 19. The $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper Derby is the highlight event on Sunday at The Stadium at 3 p.m. The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012, and they will be awarding more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit. More info...
Feb 20, 2012
Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven Wins FEI Grand Prix at $50,000 Florida Dressage Classic CDI-W
Wellington, Florida
The FEI Grand Prix at the $50,000 Florida Dressage Classic CDI-W, presented by the United States P.R.E. Association, was truly an international event as the top three places went to three different nations on Friday. Sweden's Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven won the event at the Global Dressage Festival, Ashley Holzer of Canada was second and Todd Flettrich finished as highest placed American rider in third place.
Vilhelmson-Silfven scored a 72.681% on Don Auriello, which was impressive since this is his first show in Florida this season. The pair performed the test in a relaxed steady tempo, as if on air, with steadiness and ease.
"There is lots of atmosphere here. It's like a really, really big show," said Vilhelmson-Silfven of the newly built Stadium section of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC.) More info...
Feb 17, 2012
Andres Rodriguez and Caballito win the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Ocala
Ocala, FL
Andres Rodriguez and Caballito, owned by ARAO Enterprises LLC, won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health on Thursday at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala to kick off a weekend of action-packed show jumping. High-Performance riders were out in full force yesterday as International Course Designer Martin Otto of Munster, Germany made his debut designing courses in the Grand Prix field at HITS Ocala.
Rodriguez, originally of Venezuela and now residing in Wellington, Florida, was one of 16 to make it to the jump-off from the original 39 horse-and-rider combinations. More info...
