Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Practical Horseman

A little warmblood bred to be a dressage horse seems an unlikely candidate to excel at the highest levels of eventing. Add in that quirky Doesn’t Play Fair, affectionately known by monikers such as “Munchkin Monster,” has been known to refuse at simple crossrails when he doesn’t like the look of a jump, and it’s all the more implausible. But Maya Black, 28, never gave up on this pint-sized gelding with a larger-than-life personality, and her gumption and sympathetic understanding of his idiosyncrasies combined with the horse’s sheer athleticism and love of the game continue to carry this unlikely duo to new heights. Maya, a tall rider at 6-foot, and “Cody,” a smaller horse at 15.2 hands, stamped their names on the U.S. eventing map with a third-place finish at…

The calendar is complete for the 14 events that make up the 2016–2017 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League. The series, which opens at the end of July in Canada, will see 14 North American riders qualify for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, set for March 27–April 4, 2017, at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Seven riders will come from the Eastern League and three will come from the Western League. Joining them will be two riders from Canada and two from Mexico. The North American League is one of 16 that participate in the worldwide FEI World Cup™ Jumping series, which has been active since 1978. Each of the venues hosting a Longines FEI World Cup™ North American League qualifier also will hold two…

*“What started out as a small operation, handling three to five donkeys at a time, has morphed into a full-time, nonpaying job caring for about 15–20 rescue donkeys at a time.” How did I go from being an A-circuit hunter/jumper trainer, showing, riding, teaching, running my own business and traveling the country, to becoming the co-founder and director of a miniature donkey rescue? Well, the answer is pretty simple. After 20 years of hard work, many nice horses and more horse shows than I can remember, I finally burned out both physically and psychologically. So, in 2010 I retired completely from making a living with horses. In the following years, I became a realtor and got married. We bought a 15-acre horse farm in Westminster, Maryland, where I retired my…

Jack Towell started riding as a young child in Salisbury, North Carolina. By the age of 17, he was already training and would leave high school at noon to go to a nearby farm to teach his clients. Fast forward more than 40 years; in May at the Devon Horse Show, Jack was inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. Jack’s students have won more than 75 champion and reserve champion titles at the fall indoor shows, making him one of the only trainers to consistently win at that level in equitation, hunter and jumper divisions. Two of Jack’s children followed him into the business. His daughter, Liza Towell Boyd, steered Brunello to three consecutive wins as the USHJA International Hunter Derby Champion in 2013, 2014 and 2015.…

Most riders want to improve their riding. Whether the goal is to complete their first 2-foot-6 hunter course or win at the grand prix level, the desire to create a better partnership with the horse is pretty universal. And for legendary rider and clinician Bernie Traurig the recipe for that success is simple: adopt the right system of riding and then practice it relentlessly. “A famous pianist once said that the amateur practices a melody until he gets it right. The artist practices until he never gets it wrong,” Bernie explained to a group of riders and auditors who attended his recent workshop in Bedford, New York. “And the only way you get good at this, is to practice it.” Bernie is a highly regarded rider, teacher and horseman. As…

5 Things to Do in AUGUST □ CHEER ON the United States’s best horse-and-rider teams in dressage, eventing and show jumping as they vie for medals and a place in history during the Olympic Games, Aug. 6–19, in Rio de Janiero, Brazil; Go to www.Practical-HorsemanMag.com for coverage. □ BE WOWED as an estimated 600 ponies and their riders put their skills to the test to earn hunter, jumper and equitation titles during the United States Pony Finals, Aug. 9–14, in Lexington, KY; www.ponyfinals.org. □ WATCH the nation’s top hunters compete for more than $100,000 in prize money during the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, Aug. 18–20, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. The tworound event includes both a Classic Hunter and a Handy Hunter course; www.ushja.org. □ SEE…

5-year-old mare Arabian DISCIPLINE: Pleasure 4-year-old gelding Anglo-Arabian DISCIPLINE: Eventing/Dressage 9-year-old gelding Oldenburg/Arabian DISCIPLINE: Hunter/Jumper To learn about Julie’s evaluation philosophy and to see an example of how to best present your horse for this column, visit www.PracticalHorsemanMag.com. Whether judging a model class, evaluating a prospect for a client or sizing up the yearlings at home, I first stand back and look for an overall impression of balance and symmetry. My ideal horse “fits” in a square box. By that, I mean he is defined by matching and equal parts, both front to back and side to side. This allows for athletic ability, soundness, trainability and longevity in the job. A horse who fits in a box will have a body made up of one-third shoulder, one-third back and one-third…

For the first time since the 2004 Olympics in Athens, it looks as if the United States has the possibility of medaling in all three equestrian disciplines at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 5–21. Rider talent and top horses are abundant. Now all that’s needed after a long and painstaking selection process in show jumping, eventing and dressage is some luck as South America stages its first Olympics. The biggest difference from 2012 for the jumping team, said coach Robert Ridland, is the fact that “our depth is so vastly improved over four years ago. Our second team would be a real contender for the Games. That obviously reflects well on where we are.” David O’Connor, the eventing chef d’équipe/technical adviser, said about his discipline’s team candidates:…

UGA Takes Eventing Championship Riders from the University of Georgia won the first U.S. Eventing Association Intercollegiate Championship in late May at the Virginia Horse Trials in Lexington, Virginia. Earning a combined score of 99.06, the winning team was made up of seniors Emily Cox, Kaitlyn Ruff, and Devon Olivier in the Training division and sophomore Emily Cardin in the Novice division. Less than a point separated UGA from second-place finisher Clemson University. The UGA team also claimed the Spirit Award for showing the most school pride. “This team has so much spirit,” said Cox, who also serves as team president. “We’re all there for each other. We each had somebody waiting at the finish line for us on cross country, and it was just great team spirit all together.”…

We all know that therapeutic riding benefits people with physical and mental disabilities. But could it bring relief to military veterans suffering from combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorder? Yes, according to researchers at the University of Missouri–Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine. The team was funded by a grant from the Horses and Humans Research Foundation and led by Rebecca A. Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, director of the school’s Research Center for Human–Animal Interaction. It set out to evaluate the effect of riding for people with symptoms of PTSD, such as emotional regulation, anxiety and inability to engage with family members. Thirty-eight veterans, from Vietnam veterans who had been struggling with PTSD for 30 years to those more recently having left active duty, participated. They were randomly split into two groups—one…