US Equestrian Magazine

Official Magazine of the United

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Blankets, books, bling, and more In Learning Center Clip like a Pro In USEF News The New Safe Sport Requirement

WINTER TRAINING

Tips to Keep Your Horse on Track

eration | Winter 2018

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CONTENTS FEATURES 70 WINTER TRAINING

Make the most of the season

80 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

70

Stocking-stuffers and more

88 ARIAT: OUTERWEAR

Stylish outer layers

DEPARTMENTS 10 Sponsors 14 Marketing/Media 16 Letter from

the President 18 Snapshot

80

20 USEF News

88

30 Seen & Heard 34 Learning Center Cover: A pony and dog celebrate the season. Photo: Olga Itina

40 Pro Tip Official Magazine of the United

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Blankets, books, bling, and more In Learning Center Clip like a Pro In USEF News The New Safe Sport Requirement

eration | Winter 2018

46 Juniors’ Ring 50 My First 54 Hot Links 58 Trending

WINTER TRAINING

Tips to Keep Your Horse on Track

4 WINTER ISSUE 2018

64 Horse Health 94 For the Record

PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE) JENNIFER MANDERSHEILD, KENWICK & SONS, ARIAT

8 Partners

Official Magazine of the United States Equestrian Federation

US EQUESTRIAN MAGAZINE Volume LXXXIII, Winter Edition PUBLISHED BY The United States Equestrian Federation, Inc. CHIEF MARKETING & CONTENT OFFICER Vicki Lowell | vlowell@usef.org EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Glenye Cain Oakford | goakford@usef.org CREATIVE DIRECTOR Candice McCown | cmccown@usef.org ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kim Russell | 859 225 6938 | krussell@usef.org DIRECTOR OF SPONSORSHIP & SALES Lauren Carlisle | lcarlisle@usef.org DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL & VIDEO CONTENT Andrea Evans | aevans@usef.org ASSISTANT DESIGNER Kate Strom | kstrom@usef.org EDITORIAL STAFF Kathleen Landwehr, Julian McPeak, Jane Ohlert, Kim Russell, Ashley Swift CONTRIBUTING WRITER Robin Roenker Equestrian Magazine (ISSN 1548-873X) is published five times a year: Horse of the Year Special Edition, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, by the United States Equestrian Federation®, 4047 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511; Phone: (859) 258-2472; Fax: (859) 231-6662. (ISSN:1548-873X). NOTE: Effective Spring issue of 2018, Equestrian magazine will be published and provided electronically and only four editions will have printed copies and be provided by U.S. Mail. The Winter issue will only be provided electronically. The Horse of the Year issue will be mailed only to competing members as of the date of publication and the year immediately prior to the date of publication. USEF is not responsible for the opinions and statements expressed in signed articles and paid advertisements. These opinions are not necessarily the opinions of USEF and its staff. While the Federation makes every effort to avoid errors, we assume no liability to anyone for mistakes or omissions. It is the policy of the Federation to report factually and accurately in Equestrian and to encourage and to publish corrections whenever warranted. Kindly direct any comments or inquiries regarding corrections to Glenye Cain Oakford goakford@usef.org or by direct dial 859-225-6941. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to US Equestrian, 4047 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511. Canadian Publications Agreement No. 40845627. For Canadian returns, mail to Canada Express, 7686 #21 Kimble Street Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5S1E9. (905) 672-8100. Reproduction of any article, in whole or part, by written permission only of the Editor. Equestrian: Publisher, United States Equestrian Federation®, Chief Executive Officer, William J. Moroney (859) 225-6912. Director of Advertising, Kim Russell (859) 225-6938.

Copyright © 2018. Equestrian is the official publication of the United States Equestrian Federation, the National Governing Body for Equestrian Sport in the USA, and is an official publication of USEF.

Published at 4047 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, Ky 40511 USequestrian.org

#JointheJoy Follow us on social media @USequestrian 6 WINTER ISSUE 2018

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The United States Equestrian Federation does not endorse or recommend any commercial product or service. Therefore, designations as official suppliers of the USEF of any commercial product or service cannot be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by the United States Equestrian Federation.

10 WINTER ISSUE 2018

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SPONSORS Proud sponsors of US Equestrian

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The United States Equestrian Federation does not endorse or recommend any commercial product or service. Therefore, designations as official suppliers of the USEF of any commercial product or service cannot be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by the United States Equestrian Federation.

12 WINTER ISSUE 2018

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The United States Equestrian Federation does not endorse or recommend any commercial product or service. Therefore, designations as official suppliers of the USEF of any commercial product or service cannot be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by the United States Equestrian Federation.

14 WINTER ISSUE 2018

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Our Members Are Making Things Happen What an incredible year for equestrian sport in the United States. Many of our best and brightest horses and athletes made their dreams come true by reaching their goal of a podium spot at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018.

Congratulations go not just to these amazing teams, but also to their support teams of owners, sponsors, grooms, USEF staff, and everyone else involved in assisting our athletes and horses to be their best on the competition field. If you were unable to attend, we bring you the excitement through the expanded version of our Seen and Heard section, spotlighting some key moments from the U.S. teams’ superb performances at WEG, as well as from other competitions around the country.

Also in the news are the achievements of some incredible young athletes. One of those is 14-year-old combined driving athlete Riley Wiltison. In our My First department, we learn how he found his first Connemara pony, Willow’s Aslan.

The pair captured the American Driving Society North American Preliminary Single Pony Championship title earlier this year. Thirteen-year-old Sharlena Sarmast had a crisis of riding confidence after a fall when she was seven. Today, she’s back in the saddle and jumping in shows. In this issue’s Juniors’ Ring, she talks about how her mom, her coaches, and a series of solid equine citizens helped her overcome fear and rediscover her joy in horse sports.

People helping people and horses is the foundation of our 2019 Annual Meeting theme, Members Make It Happen. Our 2019 Annual Meeting is just around the corner, and this year it will be held at the Hilton West Palm Beach in Florida. Registration, scheduling, and other information are now available on the homepage of the US Equestrian website at USequestrian.org. We continue to evolve the focus of our meeting to create 16 WINTER ISSUE 2018

a more collaborative environment for open discussion about major issues facing equestrian sport.

Headlining this year’s schedule will be the following forums, presentations, and social events.

•

Welcome Reception

•

General Session – State of US Equestrian and Equestrian Sport The Powe r o f Med i a a nd Membership Safe Sport: What You Need to Know Positive Coaching to Win Major Rule Changes: News to Know Competition and Member Summit Building a Successful Equestrian Business Pegasus Reception and Dinner Growing the Grassroots Buying, Selling, and Leasing Horses with Confidence Para-Dressage: Building for the Future Horse of the Year Reception and Dinner

• • • • • • • • • • •

In keeping with our Members Make It Happen theme, in this issue you will find some amazing articles to help you and your horse navigate the upcoming

winter months. Trainers from a variety of disciplines share winter training advice to keep you and your horse active and interested through the season. We also take a look at antibiotic resistance, a dangerous trend that has doctors concerned in both human and veterinary medicine. We look at five simple ways you can help prevent antibiotic resistance—and keep you and your horse safer. Our Learning Center features an article with horse clipping expert Shannon O’Hatnick, who is also featured in our body-clipping video in the online Learning Center, to help you decide which clip pattern your horse needs. She also reveals her tips and tricks for getting a smooth, professional look. Eventing athlete and trainer Cathy Wieschhoff helps you think outside the box to get your horse or pony into the box—the horse trailer, that is! Wieschhoff applies common sense and natural horsemanship to help you load the hesitant horse.

Congratulations to all of you for achieving your goals for 2018 and don’t forget to book your room early to get the best rate—we look forward to seeing you there.

See you at Annual Meeting,

Murray S. Kessler

PHOTO: ISABEL J KUREK PHOTOGRAPHY

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MCLAIN WARD celebrates aboard Clinta after delivering the jump-off performance that the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team needed to win the team gold medal at the FEI World

PHOTO: SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO

Equestrian Games™ in Tryon, N.C.

18 WINTER ISSUE 2018

USEF NEWS

Safe Sport:

Keeping all Members Safe from Abuse The following is a letter to all members from USEF President Murray Kessler and CEO Bill Moroney about how and why USEF implemented its Safe Sport policy and how members can access Safe Sport resources.

by Murray Kessler and Bill Moroney

US Equestrian believes the safety and welfare of our members, especially our children, is of paramount importance and that all members must be kept safe from abuse of all kinds.

Abuse has no place in our sport or in our lives. We are the guardians of our sport, and it is our collective responsibility to raise awareness and educate each other on the behaviors associated with abuse, both sexual and non-sexual. Non-sexual abuse includes emotional and/or physical misconduct, bullying, harassment, and hazing. To see the specific definitions for the various types of misconduct covered under the Safe Sport Policy, you can read the policy online here.

This year, top equestrian athlete Anne Kursinski shared her powerful personal story of abuse by a person she trusted.

To help ensure this abuse doesn’t happen to others, Anne has partnered with US Equestrian to raise awareness of the reporting, support and training resources available through US Equestrian and the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Please click here to view this important video message from Anne.

US Equestrian embarked on building a robust Safe Sport Program starting in 2013, years before Safe Sport became a household term in equestrian sport. During the process of expanding our program, the leadership and Board have been called upon many times to take the lead in creating awareness, reporting methods, education, survivor support, training, and other resources. You will be proud to know that, recently, the Board once again took the reins and approved a requirement that, starting January 1, 2019, all adult members (18 years of age and older) who have a USEF Competing Membership must complete the Safe Sport training. This is a major milestone in our efforts to unite our equestrian community in preventing abuse. The core training consists of three modules which take approximately 90 minutes to complete.

Safe Sport education for all members and parents of our junior members is essential to protecting each other, understanding when and how to report, and recognizing the signs in order to prevent abuse before it occurs. US Equestrian provides numerous resources to further your education and participation in the Safe Sport movement. Here are some

of the resources available to you at www.usef.org/safesport: Safe Sport training – FREE to all US Equestrian members. Three modules take just under 90 minutes to complete initially, with a 30-minute refresher training annually; A suspended and banned list that identifies the person by name and the reason for their suspension or ban; T h e U. S . C e n t e r fo r S a f e S p o r t h a s p a r t n e r e d with RAINN to provide a 24-hour victim services hotline, reached at 1.866.200.0796; The new USEF Safe Sport Directory is a searchable database to help individuals, parents, athletes, and others in our sport find the people within our industry who have completed the Safe Sport training and/or a criminal background check; Safe Sport FAQs and Safe Sport training FAQs on our Safe Sport webpage; Town Halls and Affiliate meetings to raise awareness, educate and field questions;

STARTING JANUARY 1, 2019, ALL ADULT COMPETING MEMBERS MUST COMPLETE SAFE SPORT TRAINING

20 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Expanding our recently launched #YouAreNotAlone campaign, including providing campaign materials to competition organizers to utilize at competitions; Developing Learning Center educational video content and PSAs for use by USEF, Affiliates, and competitions; Expanding the monitoring of USEF and Affiliate Safe Sport compliance; and Hiring additional support staff as needed for the Safe Sport Program.

Additionally, many of our members spend their weekends at competitions, and to make certain that we are providing you with the resources you need when you are attending shows, we have just launched the #YouAreNotAlone campaign. US

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CM

Equestrian will be providing competition organizers with a Safe Sport Toolkit that includes posters with reporting resources, public address announcements, video PSAs and competitor information. Working with our competition organizers, US Equestrian will bring reporting, education, and support resources directly to you at the competition.

We want you to know that you are not alone, and we are here to help.

Clear communication on all things related to Safe Sport is important to achieving our mission to raise awareness, assist you with reporting, increase education and provide support. Recently, we sent a hard copy letter accompanied by our USEF Safe Sport Handbook to the parents of our junior members. We strongly believe parents are an integral part of our efforts to prevent abuse. While the U. S. Center for SafeSport’s parental awareness training is available at no cost, we encourage you to join US Equestrian by using the code Parents18 to become a free Fan Member. By providing us with your unique email address, you allow us to more efficiently communicate with you, and through your Fan Membership, you can gain access to all the Safe Sport resources, as well as numerous member benefits and discounts.

In addition to the resources offered by US Equestrian and the Center, it is extremely important that you are aware of legislation signed in February by President Trump, Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. It requires amateur sports organizations and their members to report sex-abuse allegations involving minors to local or federal law enforcement, or to a child-welfare agency designated by the Justice Department, within 24 hours. Failure to do so is a crime.

Not only is reporting the right thing to do, it is critical to creating a safe environment for athletes and members. Sexual and non-sexual misconduct have two distinct reporting processes: 1) All sexual misconduct should be reported directly to the U.S. Center for SafeSport by phone 720-524-5640 or online at www.safesport.org.

MY

CY

CMY

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2) All non-sexual misconduct or violations of the Safe Sport Policy should be reported directly to US Equestrian. Reports through US Equestrian can be submitted using the USEF Incident Report Form, or by email or phone to Teresa Roper, Safe Sport Program Coordinator, troper@usef.org, 859-225-6915, Sonja Keating, General Counsel, skeating@usef.org, 859-2252045, or Emily Pratt, epratt@usef.org, 859-225-6956.

Both the U.S. Center for SafeSport and US Equestrian will accept anonymous reports, but please note that it can be very difficult to investigate anonymous complaints.

The safety of our members and the future of our sport are dependent on how all of us act. Together, we will make a difference and we will make our sport a place where safety is the norm and abuse finds no home. We hope you will embrace this call to action and join us in our efforts to eradicate abuse in our sport.

Please contact our legal department, which handles all Safe Sport inquiries at skeating@usef.org should you have any questions or need assistance.

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 21

USEF NEWS

Home Team Success at Tryon The U.S. Reining Team won their fifth consecutive team gold medal.

22 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Above: The U.S. Driving Team earned their firstever WEG gold medal.

Opposite: The NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team won their first WEG team gold since 1986 and qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

PHOTOS: ERIN GILMORE FOR SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO, SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO

The U.S. Team saw immense success at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™, which took place at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Tryon, N.C., from September 11-23. Our athletes and horses won an unprecedented 12 medals for the U.S. on home soil: three golds, five silvers, and four bronzes.

The U.S. Reining Team won the first U.S. medal of the WEG and their fifth consecutive team gold medal. Dan Huss and Ms Dreamy earned the individual silver medal, and 18-year-old Cade McCutcheon and Custom Made Gun received the individual bronze medal following a run-off.

The NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team won the second team gold medal for the U.S. after a tie required a jump-off against Sweden. McLain Ward and Clinta delivered a fast, clean round to clinch the first U.S. team gold medal in a world championship since 1986 and secure Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020. All four U.S. combinations finished in the top 16 in the individual final.

The U.S. Driving Team was the final discipline to compete in Tryon, and they closed the event out with a bang by winning the third team gold medal for the U.S. and the first-ever U.S. gold in a world championship. Chester Weber won his second consecutive WEG individual silver medal with his talented horses.

The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team claimed the team silver medal, which secured Olympic qualification. Laura Graves and Verdades shined in the Grand Prix Special, earning the individual silver medal. Their medal marked the first U.S. individual silver medal at a WEG or an Olympic Games.

The U.S. Para Equestrian Dressage Team presented by Deloitte kicked things off with Rebecca Hart riding El Corona Texel to an individual bronze medal in the FEI Grade III Individual Test and earning the first-ever WEG para-equestrian dressage medal for the U.S. The U.S. team placed fifth, posting the best team result in a world championship. Hart and El Corona Texel went one better in the FEI Grade III

2018

MEDAL COUNT:

Freestyle, claiming individual silver. Kate Shoemaker on Solitaer 40 and Roxanne Trunnell on Dolton earned their first individual medals, claiming bronze in the FEI Grade IV Freestyle and FEI Grade I Freestyle, respectively.

The U.S. Vaulting Team wowed fans and judges alike with their artistic moves on horseback. The Pacific Coast Vaulters finished fourth in the squad championship, and in the debut of the nations team competition, the U.S. team finished in fifth place.

The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team had a strong start to the championship, sitting in bronze-medal position after dressage. However, they ran into some problems in the jumping phases to ultimately finish in eighth place. It was a valuable learning experience and the U.S. eventing contingent will now focus on achieving Olympic team qualification at the 2019 Pan American Games.

The U.S. Endurance Team had the goal of a team completion in Tryon. The team members were on pace to achieve the goal when difficult circumstances caused the cancellation of the race, which was necessary for horse welfare. The U.S. Endurance Team now look to their next opportunity for a team completion.

Reining

1

1

2

Para-Dressage

1

Jumping

1

Driving

1

TOTAL

3 5 4

Dressage

1

3

1

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 23

USEF NEWS

Join Us at US Equestrian’s Annual Meeting

The Hilton West Palm Beach

US Equestrian’s 2019 Annual Meeting is relocating and reinventing itself to better engage, educate, and entertain members. The meeting moves this year to West Palm Beach, Fla., for more members’ convenience, and the program will feature more interactive and educational sessions than ever.

Come join President Murray Kessler at the Hilton West Palm Beach for the poolside welcome reception with cocktails and appetizers on Wednesday, Jan. 9. The General Session will take place on Thursday, Jan. 10, from 8 a.m. to noon. There also will be a wide variety of workshops, presentations, and panels with timely topics Wednesday, Jan. 9, through Friday, Jan. 11, including: Safe Sport: What You Need to Know Positive Coaching to Win Major Rule Changes: News to Know The Power of Media and Membership Growing the Grassroots Buying, Selling, and Leasing Horses with Confidence Building a Successful Equestrian Business … and more!

Celebrate the 2018 competition season and equestrian achievement at the Pegasus Awards (including Equestrians of the Year) on Thursday night, Jan. 10, and at the Horse of the Year Awards gala with a live band and dancing on Saturday night, Jan. 12.

To register and for schedule details, visit USequestrian.org/annual-meeting. Your registration fee includes entrance to the welcome reception on Wednesday evening and breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Saturday.

Register by Saturday, Dec. 15, to receive the special group rate of $189 plus tax. For reservations, phone (561) 561-6000 or 1-800-HILTONS and reference Group Code ZEQF. We look forward to seeing you there!

24 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF HILTON WEST PHOTO: STEVIE BAGDASARIAN PALM BEACH (ABOVE), ADAM BRENNANPICTURESBYAB.COM (BELOW)

Register now for the Jan. 9-12 meeting in West Palm Beach

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MEMBERS MAKE IT HAPPEN! JANUARY 9 - 12TH, 2019 Hilton West Palm Beach 600 Okeechobee Blvd.

Schedule Details: usef.org/annual meeting

USEF NEWS

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the updated member lists to the Discover Dressage™ USEF/USDF Emerging Athlete Program and Dressage Development Program.

The Discover Dressage USEF/USDF Emerging Athlete Program aims to provide strategic guidance and educational opportunities to athletes under the age of 25. Led by USEF Dressage Youth Coach George Williams and USEF Dressage Assistant Youth Coach Charlotte Bredahl-Baker, the program will provide access to educational opportunities and competition planning for qualified athletes.

In alphabetical order, the following athlete/horse combinations meet the criteria for Discover Dressage USEF/USDF Emerging Athlete Program membership: Aleyna Dunn (Solana Beach, Calif.) and Bivera, her 12-yearold Dutch Warmblood mare Benjamin Ebeling (Moorpark, Calif.) and Behlinger, Amy Roberts Ebeling, Ann Romney, and Elizabeth Meyer’s 10-yearold Hanoverian gelding Kerrigan Gluch (Wellington, Fla.) and Bolero CXLVIII, Hampton Green Farm’s 14-year-old P.R.E. stallion; HGF Brio, Hampton Green Farm’s 13-year-old Andalusian stallion; and Vaquero HGF, Hampton Green Farm’s 11-year-old Andalusian stallion Isabel Linder (Clarkston, Mich.) and Elvis, Hai Wei’s 14-yearold Westphalian gelding Callie Jones (Henderson, Ky.) and Don Philippo, her 10-yearold Hanoverian gelding Tillie Jones (Lincoln, Neb.) and Apachi, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding she owns with Tish Jones Rebekah Mingari (Depauw, Ind.) and Allure S, Kerrin Dunn’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Natalie Pai (Wellington, Fla.) and Unlimited, Melanie Pai’s 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Chase Shipka (Marshall, Va.) and Zigal, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding she owns with Darcie Shipka Christian Simonson (Ventura, Calif.) and FRH Rassolini, Christina Morgan’s 15-year-old Hessen Warmblood stallion Anna Weniger (Apex, N.C.) and Don Derrick, Dawn Weniger’s 14-year-old NRPS gelding Find out more about the Discover Dressage USEF/USDF Emerging Athlete Program online or contact Hannah Niebielski, Director of Dressage, National Programs at hniebielski@usef.org.

The aim of the Dressage Development Program is to provide strategic guidance and resources to selected athletes with the perceived ability to make the podium or contribute to podium scores.

This program is overseen by the USEF Development Coach with the assistance of the USEF Dressage Youth and Young Horse Coaches, as well as the USEF Dressage Technical Advisor. The Program is supported by Akiko Yamazaki and her Red Husky Foundation.

26 WINTER ISSUE 2018

In alphabetical order, the following athlete/horse combinations meet the criteria for Dressage Development Program membership: Lauren Asher (Littleton, Colo.) and Honnerups Event, her 13-year-old Danish Warmblood mare, and West Side, Select Equine International’s 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Jennifer Baumert (Wellington, Fla.) and Handsome, Betsy Juliano LLC’s 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding Patti Becker (Wadsworth, Ill.) and Freedom, Anne Ramsay’s 11-year-old Oldenburg stallion Heather Blitz (Wellington, Fla.) and Praestemarkens Quatero, her nine-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Michael Bragdell (Colora, Md.) and Qredit Hilltop, Hilltop Farm Inc’s 10-year-old Oldenburg stallion, and Sternlicht Hilltop, Hilltop Farm Inc’s eight-year-old Hanoverian stallion Niki Clarke (Temecula, Calif.) and Coral Reef Scoobidooh, Coral Reef Ranch’s nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding Lehua Custer (North Hollywood, Calif.) and F.J. Ramzes, Wendy Sasser’s eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Claire Darnell (Port Townsend, Wash.) and Harrold S, her six-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Kristina Harrison (Burbank, Calif.) and Finley, her eightyear-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Aaron Janicki (Mount Vernon, Wash.) and Heron, his sixyear-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Katie Johnson (Greenwood Village, Colo.) and Eastwood, Kylee Lourie’s nine-year-old KWPN gelding Jodie Kelly-Baxley (Destin, Fla.) and Caymus, Beth Godwin’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding McKenzie Milburn (Bothell, Wash.) and San Corazon, Janice Davis’s 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding Amy Miller (Fullerton, Calif.) and Encore, her nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Alyssa Pitts (Snohomish, Wash.) and Quintessential HIT, her nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding Jennifer Schrader-Williams (Yelm, Wash.) and Millione, Millione Partners LLC’s 15-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Melissa Taylor (Wellington, Fla.) and Dixie WRF, a 10-yearold Dutch Warmblood mare she owns with Marcia Pepper Carly Taylor-Smith (Malibu, Calif.) and Rosalut NHF, Nikki Taylor-Smith’s eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding Dawn White-O’Connor (Cardiff, Calif.) and Bailarino, Four Winds Farm’s 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding Find out more about the Dressage Development Program online or contact Kristen Brett, Director of Dressage Programs at kbrett@usef.org.

PHOTO: TAYLOR PENCE/US EQUESTRIAN

US Equestrian Announces Discover Dressage™ USEF/USDF Emerging Athlete Program and Dressage Development Program Members

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USEF NEWS

Melissa Baumann Awarded Higher Education Equestrian Scholarship

Melissa Baumann on Dauntless Heart.

US Equestrian Announces Dates and Locations for 2019 USEF Junior Hunter National Championships US Equestrian is pleased to announce the following dates and locations of the 2019 USEF Junior Hunter National Championships: USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – East Coast: July 8-9, 2019; Brandywine Horse Shows, Devon, Pa. USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – West Coast: July 22-23, 2019; Sonoma Horse Park, Petaluma, Calif.

For additional information, please contact Kelsey Shanley at kshanley@usef.org or 859-225-6960.

28 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTO: COURTESY OF STEVEN BAUMANN

US Equestrian is pleased to announce Melissa Baumann, an eventing athlete from Reading, W. Va., as the recipient of the 2018 USEF Higher Education Equestrian Scholarship for graduating high school seniors. This program is designed to support students who intend to continue their equestrian career during college either through an equestrian-related degree or by riding on an intercollegiate team. The recipient receives a $5,000 grant towards his/her education at his/her respective college or university.

“Horses have been [the core of] my education my whole life,” said Baumann, who discovered eventing when she was 10 but also has volunteered at dressage shows and endurance rides. “They taught me discipline, dedication, and determination. I am honored and grateful to [have the opportunity] to keep working on my dream of becoming a professional horseman by continuing my studies at Bluegrass Community College and future studies at the University of Kentucky.

I would like to thank US Equestrian, the Scholarship Committee, Jane Hamlin for being my positive role model, and all the special people who have believed in me.”

Baumann’s essay earned her a $5,000 grant that will be used towards her education at the Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, Ky., this fall.

Baumann plans to study in their Jockey Program before transferring to the University of Kentucky and finalizing her degree in Equine Business Management.

Learn more about the Higher Education Equestrian Scholarship for Graduating High School Seniors and other youth programs through US Equestrian.

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SEEN AND HEARD

Clockwise from top left: The NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team of (left to right) McLain Ward, Adrienne Sternlicht, Laura Kraut, and Devin Ryan claim the team gold medal at the FEI World Equestrian GamesTM Tryon 2018 after an exciting jump-off against Sweden.

The U.S. Reining Team of (left to right) Chef d’Equipe Jeff Petska, Jordan Larson, Cade McCutcheon, Dan Huss, and Casey Deary recognize the U.S. supporters from atop the podium.

Phillip Dutton and Z of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team make light work of the cross-country track.

Rebecca Hart and El Corona Texel of the U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team presented by Deloitte danced home with two individual medals, silver and bronze, at the Grade III level.

30 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTOS: SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO, ERIN GILMORE FOR SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO, ALISON GREEN FOR SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO

In & Around the Ring

Clockwise from top left: The U.S. Driving Team’s Chester Weber directs his horses through an obstacle on his way to his second consecutive WEG individual silver medal.

Erin Champion, groom for U.S. Endurance Team member Cheryl Van Deusen, presents Hoover the Mover at the endurance horse inspection.

Laura Graves and Verdades of The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team earned the Grand Prix Special individual silver medal.

Maggie Long, Daniel Janes, and Kristian Roberts of the U.S. Vaulting Team perform their season-inspired squad freestyle.

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 31

SEEN AND HEARD

In & Around the Ring Below: Amber Kildow shows Willowlawn’s Investment at the 2018 Shetland National Congress in Lake St. Louis, Mo. Right: Rotiyas, with handler Richard Taylor, displays why he won the Overall Grand Champion title at Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF Hunter Breeding National Championship presented by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Oare.

“

This is my fourth senior Nations Cup ever, so I am still quite new to this level.

There is nothing quite like representing your country on the international stage, so I was very honored to be picked for this team. For it to go this well is just icing on the cake.”

- Lucy Deslauriers on clinching a second-place finish for the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final Challenge Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

32 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTOS: (LEFT) HOWARD SCHATZBERG, (BELOW) CASEY MCBRIDE, (RIGHT) SHAWNA SIMMONS OF SAS PHOTOGRAPHY

Left: Juliette Dell and CH Reedann’s Rare Mystery take their Adult Country Pleasure World’s Champion of Champions lap of honor at the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Ky.

“We packed up our belongings and were back on the road before the class finished. When we got in the car, she still didn’t cry. I was amazed. So I finally asked her, ‘How did you do it?

How did you not cry the entire time?’

She replied, ‘When they gave me the blue ribbon with my exhibitor bag, I told myself that I already won.

And I believed it.’

”

- Katie Moriarty on her nine-year-old daughter’s mature reaction to an unfortunate elimination in the over-fences phase of the 2018 USEF Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm in Lexington, Ky.

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 33

LEARNING CENTER

Get the Best Body-Clip for Your Horse

by Glenye Cain Oakford

When Jack Frost first nips at your nose and your horse or pony’s coat starts getting fuzzy, it’s time to make your winter clipping plan. Before you pull out the clippers, consider several questions. How much work will your horse or pony be doing this winter? What kind of shelter do they have from winter weather? How old are they?

Will they be showing?

Particularly in the case of older horses and ponies, it’s also worth talking to your veterinarian about any conditions your horse might have—like Cushing’s disease (which can cause heavy hair growth) or anhidrosis (an inability to sweat)—that could affect how and when you clip.

Before you start, make sure your clippers are in good repair with clean, sharp blades. Also be sure your horse has blankets that are of the appropriate range of weights and that are clean and in good repair, because once he’s clipped he will need blanketing.

Now you’re ready to tackle that clip job. We tapped Shannon O’Hatnick, owner of Radiant 34 WINTER ISSUE 2018

A successful clip job starts with a little planning.

Clips and assistant trainer at Bascule Farms in Poolesville, Md., to get her top tips for achieving the straight lines and a smooth finish for a professional-looking clip.

Before Clipping “Have your horse as squeaky clean as possible!”

O’Hatnick advised. “If you’re able to bathe it, do.

Scrub as much as you can and really rinse out that extra soap. If you can’t bathe, curry, curry, curry!

“Then use whatever kind of leave-in conditioner, light oil, or show polish spray you can to make the hair nice and slick so it will be more clippable.”

Don’t forget to prepare yourself, too. “You’re going to get hair everywhere, so make sure you have some kind of full-body painter’s suit or longsleeved white shirt with overalls—something that will help you stay comfortable and won’t let the hair in,” O’Hatnick said, adding that applying baby powder to your skin can also help keep those pesky horse hairs off.

PHOTO: PHOTO: ARND.NL/ARND TAYLOR PENCE/ BRONKHORST US EQUESTRIAN

Clipping pro Shannon O’Hatnick, owner of Radiant Clips in Poolesville, Md., reveals her tips and tricks for a better winter clip job.

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 35

LEARNING CENTER

Choose Your Body-Clipping Pattern

Although there are some variations on these, the five basic clipping patterns that O’Hatnick uses most often for horses who are in work or showing include:

The strip clip (for horses in light work or who live outside 24/7). “It’s a very minimal clip that just takes the hair from underneath the throatlatch and neck, and a little bit of the chest and under the belly,” O’Hatnick said. “It helps a horse cool down if it’s still getting sweaty in really cold temperatures or is in light work. The horse still has most of its coat, but there’s a bit of an air channel to help it cool down.”

The trace clip (for horses in light to medium work). “This takes off a little more than the strip clip,” she said. “You take off the hair under the jaw, on the lower half of the neck, under the neck, the chest, under the belly, and about the lower half of the side of the horse. But you’ll leave the hair long on the legs, the face, and the horse’s back. The horse is still kept warm but it has a little less of its coat, to help it cool down a bit faster, and you’ve taken off excess hair in the areas where a horse is prone to get sweatiest.” The trace clip commonly is used for horses in light to medium work.

The Irish clip (for horses in light to medium work). This is variation on the trace clip takes off a bit more of the neck, chest, and side of the horse, starting immediately behind the ear in a diagonal line down to the bottom of horse’s flank, almost to the stifle. Some versions shave the lower half or all of the face. “It takes off more than a trace clip but accounts for the same sweaty areas that need hair taken off: the neck, chest, under the belly, and a little more of the side,” O’Hatnick explained.

36 WINTER ISSUE 2018

The hunter clip (for horses in medium to heavy work). “You’ll shave off almost everything, except the legs and a saddle mark where the saddle goes, to leave protection in those two areas,” O’Hatnick said. “Horses with a hunter clip will have to be blanketed a little heavier than those with, say, a strip clip.”

The full body (for horses in heavy work, who are show horses, or who live indoors with access to dry turnout). “This is primarily for show horses that have to have the entire coat shaved off so that they are smooth and cleancut,” she said. “It allows complete breathability when you’re at higher levels and the horse is pretty much sweaty everywhere. It also makes it much easier to groom your horse for show purposes, and it can be helpful for horses with skin issues or metabolism issues where they can’t shed out their own coats. With this clip, you’ll need to blanket even heavier and even use a hood.”

Tips for a Straight, Smooth Clip Straight lines. For patterns like the trace or Irish clip that require straight lines, O’Hatnick recommends using painter’s tape or baling twine and a washable marker or lightly wet chalk to mark out the line before you start clipping. To make sure the lines are even on both sides of the horse, “I make sure that when I’m looking either at the front or at the back that both sides are at the same height. If the front and the back are lined up, if you’ve made that straight line on the side, it should line up properly from side to side,” O’Hatnick said. Another tip is to use a pen to mark the middle of a length of string that, when draped evenly over the horse’s shoulders or back, places the clip line symmetrically on each side.

Avoiding clipper tracks. “As you’re clipping the hair, you want to clip against the grain,” O’Hatnick said. “But always go back and clip angled against the grain so you can get rid of excess lines that might be left.”

Keep it smooth. “For flabby or wrinkly skin like they have under their jaws or behind their elbows, be sure to pull that skin back so you can make sure you get a clean, smooth cut, even where the skin naturally folds over,” O’Hatnick said. That also helps prevent accidental nicks and cuts.

Use smaller clippers for detail work. “If I’m doing a full-body clip, I also use two different sizes of clippers; I use large body clippers for the neck, barrel, and rump, and then I’ll have a smaller pair to clip the face, ears, and harder-to-reach crevices in the legs to finish up.”

Cool and lubricate the clippers. “Lubricate your clipper blades frequently and generously,” O’Hatnick said. A good guide is to stop every 10 to 15 minutes to clean and lubricate clipper blades and let them cool.

Once your horse has a nice, clean clip, O’Hatnick suggests applying leave-in conditioner or light oil. “That will help soothe that skin and slick any excess hair off,” she said.

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 37

LEARNING CENTER

Fun Stuff Tempted to buck tradition with your clip job with a creative pattern? That’s a fun option, especially for kid-friendly lesson programs or for a horse or pony that won’t be competing over the winter. But be careful, O’Hatnick cautions: using a business name or logo could be considered marketing, so understand the rules before you plan and execute your design.

“It’s a fun idea for kids to do, and a lot of kids are enjoying it, because it’s fun and cute and stylish now,” she said. “I think at the lower levels it’s a trend that’s starting to grow, though they’re sticking with the traditional clips at the upper levels.”

You can find stencils online, but O’Hatnick, who studied art in high school, prefers freehand.

“I like using my imagination!” she said. “I don’t use anything other than my clippers, but you can draw your design on first with chalk or use a stencil or even design your own stencil. Sometimes, for more detailed, intricate designs, I’ll use a closer-contact blade that will trim a little shorter and make the details stand out more. It’s a fun way to be artsy and still be doing something with horses.”

38 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Want to learn more?

Members can check out these resources in the Learning Center at USequestrian.org/learn.

Videos: “Body Clipping Your Horse” with Shannon O’Hatnick and “Blanketing 101” with Emma Ford Article: “Winter Blanketing Basics” with Emma Ford Checklist: “Clipper Maintenance Tips”

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHANNON O’HATNICK

For some, clipping season is a chance to get creative!

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 39

PRO TIP

Loading the Hesitant Horse

by Glenye Cain Oakford

Eventing athlete and trainer Cathy Wieschhoff uses patience and natural horsemanship techniques to help a horse think inside the box—literally.

Schedule plenty of training time.

“When you decide you’re going to do this, you can’t have a set agenda, and you can’t have a time limit,” Wieschhoff said. “If you only have a half-hour, then you have to accept that if you only get two front feet inside the trailer, that’s good enough for that session, and you walk away with that for that day. I think a lot of people get in a hurry, and when they get in a hurry and the horse doesn’t respond, people get frustrated. When they get frustrated, they overreact instead of taking a breath, walking away, and coming back when they have time to deal with the issues that might come up.”

40 WINTER ISSUE 2018

“The natural horsemanship halter lets you put a little more pressure on the nose and the poll, and when the horse feels that they’re not really inclined to go against it; they’re inclined to give to it,” Wieschhoff says.

PHOTOS: US EQUESTRIAN

Being able to load quickly and safely on a trailer is an important basic skill for any horse or pony. It’s not only a matter of convenience for you, it’s also crucial in an emergency. Even if your horse never leaves the farm to compete, if you ever need to evacuate your facility or take him to a veterinary clinic, you should be certain that he will load willingly.

“A lot of times, horses will load fine and then one day they stop loading fine,” said Cathy Wieschhoff, a three-day event rider, trainer, course designer, and clinician based at her own Carriage Station Farm in Lexington, Ky. “At the end of the day, you’re asking the horse to go into a little tiny box, and any horse might be hesitant about that.”

For training, Wieschhoff says, she likes to use natural horsemanship techniques and a rope (or natural horsemanship) halter, 12’ lead line, and a long stick (like a long crop or dressage whip) that can serve as an extension to your arm “to help negotiate their direction, not to hit them,” Wieschhoff explained.

The idea behind the rope halter and the stick or whip is to apply a little bit of pressure, then release that pressure when the horse makes progress toward the goal of loading, “even if that’s just putting his nose down and sniffing the floor,” Wieschhoff said. “Then you take pressure off.”

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 41

PRO TIP

Take baby steps.

“I’ll ask them to walk in a circle, up and over the ramp if the trailer has a ramp, in both directions,” she said. “Then I’ll ask them to walk into the trailer.

You just get them to take baby steps. Horses are kind of curious, and so they’ll usually take a step, it will make a noise, and they’ll back up again, or they’ll try to go to the left or the right. The natural horsemanship halter lets you put a little more pressure on the nose and the poll, and when the horse feels that they’re not really inclined to go against it; they’re inclined to give to it.”

A lunge whip or stick is useful to apply light pressure, such as by tapping, to encourage the horse to move forward. It also can help guide a horse to keep him straight. Don’t use it to hurry or rush the horse into the trailer, though, as that will be counterproductive.

Reward but don’t lure.

Once the horse is even partly in the trailer, stand next to him, pat him, and reassure him. If he stands quietly for a moment, resume the baby steps by gently encouraging him to move forward.

“Don’t get quick,” Wieschhoff cautioned. “Take time. If they get all the way in, don’t rush around to do the butt bar; stand with them and rub on them.

Sometimes I’ll have a hay net in there or, if the trailer has a manger, I’ll put a little hay in there so that once they’re in they’ll think, ‘Oh, look, when I get in here I can eat hay.’ Their intention is to walk into the trailer and eat the hay.”

So why not use the classic bucket of feed to lure a horse up the ramp and into the trailer?

“Then you’re coaxing the horse, and he’s not doing it of his own volition because he likes it,” she said.

“Suppose you break down someday on the highway and you’ve got to unload your horses and put them on someone else’s trailer. You need to be sure your horses will load onto that trailer, even if you don’t happen to have a bag of feed there with you to coax them in. You want to be able to point your finger to the trailer, send them in, and do up the butt bar, all in less than a minute.”

Once the horse will stand quietly in the trailer, stand with him and pat him, then calmly walk around him to close the butt bar or partition, secure his head, and close the trailer doors.

“Then take them for a little drive, if you have time,” Wieschhoff said. “You don’t have to take them

42 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Let the horse examine the trailer before asking them to walk into it.

A lunge whip or stick is useful to apply light pressure, such as by tapping, to encourage the horse to move forward.

When the horse will stand quietly in the trailer, pat him, then calmly close the butt bar or partition, secure his head, and close the doors.

PHOTOS: US EQUESTRIAN

And stay positive.

“You want to think about what you want the horse to do, not what you don’t want him to do,” Wieschhoff said. “Your intention should be that the horse will get on the trailer, and when he makes a move to do that, there’s a relief of pressure. Even if he says, ‘Okay, maybe,’ just release that pressure.”

PRO TIP

somewhere and unload them in a strange place and then try to reload them; just drive around the block, unload them back at home, and try to load them again. This shows them, ‘See, everything is okay.’”

When trailering in a slant-load or partitioned trailer, Wieschhoff always ties a horse’s head. “They can get themselves in trouble if they get their heads down or somehow get them on the other side of the chest bar or partition, you’re in trouble,” she said. “If they raise their heads and hit that chest bar or partition, they’ll have a go-to-pieces. I always fasten their heads just long enough so they can reach their hay net but not so long that they can get their heads down.”

to back out only when you ask him, rather than when he hears the sound of the bar or partition.

“Never hold their heads while they’re backing up,” Wieschhoff cautioned. “If you’re holding their heads trying to keep them slow or to keep them from panicking, their reaction to pressure on their head is to go up. Then they can bang their head on the top of the trailer, and that’s no good, either.”

Finally, if your trailer has its own ties or snaps, after securing your horse’s head, remove your lead rope.

“I’ve heard horror stories about lead ropes blowing out of the trailer and getting caught on tires,” Wieschhoff said.

Unload safely, too.

A horse must be able to unload safely, too, Wieschhoff noted. To help make the unloading smoother, she recommends untying the horse’s head before you lower the butt bar (or, in a slant load, before swinging the partition open).

“Horses get in the habit of hearing you undo the back, and they’ll start to back out when they hear that,” she explained.

“If you undo the butt before you undo the head, they hit that pressure from their head being tied, and that can really make them fly backwards; if the tie breaks, then their heads will jerk up and they can hit their heads—the whole scenario just goes wrong.”

Practice standing with your horse in the trailer after the butt bar or partition has been released, and train him

Practice periodically.

It’s worth occasionally practicing loading and unloading in case you ever need to do it for any reason, including emergencies. Also consider a quick refresher on loading/unloading if you’ve gotten a new or different type of trailer or if you haven’t trailered your horse in more than several months.

“If I know that I’m going to leave at four o’clock in the morning with two horses that haven’t been on my trailer or haven’t been somewhere in a while, I will go out and make sure they’ve got it,” Wieschhoff said. “So when four o’clock comes and it’s dark outside and you’re trying to get on the road, you’re not having to try to coax a horse into the trailer.”

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PHOTO: US EQUESTRIAN

“I always fasten their heads just long enough so they can reach their hay net but not so long that they can get their heads down,” says Wieschhoff.

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Joy

Rediscovered

by Glenye Cain Oakford

When she was seven, Sharlena Sarmast was a horse-crazy young girl with two years of riding experience. But when she fell off a spooking horse that year and got injured, everything changed.

While she was on a ride, the horse in front of hers reared and threw its rider, and Sharlena’s mount made a quick jump to the right to avoid the rider who had come off.

Sharlena fell, too, and X-rays later revealed that in the confusion her horse had stepped on her back, Sharlena’s mother Karen Sarmast recalled. “Luckily, there were no broken bones, but she had a severe swelling of the spine and a very bruised hoof mark imprinted on her back,” Karen said. “She was on bed rest for a month and kept home from school. All in all, she was very, very lucky, but she was terrified of ever getting back on a horse again.”

Today, 13-year-old Sharlena is once again a confident and competitive young rider, thanks to her own determination to return to a sport she loves, and thanks to a supportive equestrian community whose patient, thoughtful strategies helped her regain the joy of riding. She hopes her story will help other equestrians find ways to overcome any fear they might have and get back to enjoying their passion for horses and horse sports.

“Before I fell off, I was fascinated with horses,” Sharlena said. “I wanted to be there with them every day for the whole, entire day. But once the fall happened, I was just terrified of what had 46 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Above: Sharlena Sarmast, 13, became afraid of horses after a fall but is happily riding and competing again on her horses, including The Gambler, shown here with Sharlena at the Blenheim Summer Classic in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., in August.

Left: Miniature horse Misty was a first step in helping Sharlena regain her confidence around horses.

happened and that it had happened to me all of a sudden. It was frightening. I would think about it every day when I was home instead of attending school. I’d think, ‘How did this happen? Why don’t I like this anymore?’ I loved horses, but I was very skeptical about it.”

Starting Small A year after Sharlena’s 2012 accident, Karen—who also grew up riding—decided to try reintroducing her daughter to horses in a small way, literally: she bought her a miniature horse named Misty.

“My mom brought me there every day so I could be near Misty,” Sharlena said.

“I got more and more comfortable with her and groomed her. After a while, one

of my friends who rode horses wanted so badly for me to ride, too, and my mom finally convinced me to try riding a pony.

She said, ‘Come on, don’t give up. You have to give it a try.’ The first time I rode again, I had this burst of joy—I just felt that feeling again.”

Sharlena’s first ride back, at age nine on that pony named Bubbles, instantly rekindled her love for riding, but building her confidence back to pre-fall levels took time. She was helped in that journey by coaches Alden Giacopuzzi and Erin Isom—and by Niki Macleod, who helped school Sharlena’s horses and also worked with her on the flat—at her new barn, Alderin Sporthorses in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

PHOTOS: CAPTURED MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY, (INSET) COURTESY OF THE SARMAST FAMILY

With the help of family, friends, and coaches, Sharlena Sarmast overcame fear and made a successful return to the saddle. Now she hopes others will find inspiration from her experience and put their nerves behind them.

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JUNIORS’ RING

“She never stopped her passion for loving horses, but it was the confidence she gained back through her trainers and finding the right horses for her personality after the fall that brought her back,” mom Karen said.

“I did still have nerves, but over time I overcame that fear,” she said. “I rode Bubbles for a while. He behaved very well, and after a while, I started to say, ‘Okay, this is not that bad.’ So I moved on to another horse, Smarty, who was a little bigger. In the beginning, I took private lessons. But once I got on Smarty and he was very good, I started riding with the other children, and they just gave me more confidence.

“My coaches tried to keep me happy and make sure that I was enjoying it, not stressed and nervous,” she added. “They would ask me, ‘Is it okay if we do this?’ and I could say, ‘Sure, just slowly.’ After a while, I got to a point where I said, ‘Okay, we can start going 48 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Top left: “Just being around the barn, the horses, and nature—I think that’s very healing,” said Sharlena’s mom, Karen (right), shown here with Sharlena.

Top right: Sharlena and Caretani 2, who “boosted my confidence so much,” Sharlena said.

Bottom: Sharlena and The Gambler were reserve champions in the .90-meter jumper division at the Blenheim Summer Classic in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., in August.

Into the Show Ring Debuting in the show ring made Sharlena “quite nervous,” she said. “But all my friends were also doing the show, so I thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’”

As Sharlena continued to progress, graduating from a smaller, leased horse named Tintin to a bigger, more advanced mount named Jack, she also has started asking for her own horse. “I really wanted one at that point, because I’d gotten so far and I thought, ‘Okay, I do not want to quit now!’”

Sharlena remembered.

Today, the family owns three horses: Crossing Blue, whom Sharlena and her mom have both shown, Caretani 2, and, most recently, The Gambler.

“Caretani was a big deal for me, because he boosted my confidence so much,” Sharlena said. She and the eight-year-old Holsteiner partnered for quite a few ribbons, whetting her competitive appetite. “When I did my first few lessons with him he was slow and very cautious with me, because I think he knew I needed that. After a couple of months, we really had a bond, and eventually we started doing bigger jumps. Today we can do 3’6” and 4’ jumps.”

To help her nerves stay steady and her outlook positive for competitions, Sharlena reads two books her mother gave her: “How To Be Mindful” and “How to Be Calm” by Anna Barnes. And she keeps in mind some advice a friend of her dad Ali once gave her: “He gave me a whole conversation about, when I get into the ring, just focus and have fun, not to think about all the other people watching. He said I should go in there and just enjoy it while it lasts.”

Looking back on her return to riding, Sharlena says her advice to other juniors facing confidence issues is to persevere.

“Don’t give up,” she said. “If you love what you do, don’t quit. If you’re scared, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re nervous, just take your time, and you’ll get to that point where you know why you love your sport.”

“If they were around horses before and had that passion, a great thing to do is take them to the barn, even if they don’t own a horse themselves,” Karen said. “Just letting them feed the horses and maybe grooming a horse—just being around the barn, the horses, and nature—I think that’s very healing.”

PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) MICHELE NUNES, COURTESY OF THE SARMAST FAMILY, CAPTURED MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY

faster now!’ That was the point when I really started getting back into it. That took about three months.”

MY FIRST

Riley Wiltison and Willow’s Aslan

My First Connemara

by Glenye Cain Oakford

Riley Wiltison is only 14, but he’s already a serious competitor in the sport of combined driving, most recently taking the American Driving Society North American Preliminary Single Pony Championship this summer in South Woodstock, Vt. It wasn’t Riley’s first national championship, but it was his first championship win with his Connemara pony—a breed Riley initially encountered in March of 2017 when he and his family leased Willow’s Aslan from Eleanor Parkes.

The partnership has been a definite success: Aslan and Riley topped the event’s largest division en route to their ADS Preliminary Single Pony title. Riley says he’s found a lot to like about the famously hardy and intelligent Connemara breed for combined driving’s three demanding phases: driven dressage, the marathon that requires negotiating a series of obstacles (called hazards) in natural terrain, and the tricky cones phase, in which driver and pony must execute a technical course of cones.

50 WINTER ISSUE 2018

“He is tough; he isn’t fragile,” Riley, who lives in Oakland, Md., said of Aslan. “He’s brave. He’s always willing to go: his ears are pricked forward. I think this is strange, but he also can tell the difference between the harnesses. If I put the presentation harness on, he just stands nice and quiet. But on marathon day, it doesn’t matter whether marathon day is the second or third phase, he’ll get antsy and start moving around and won’t stand still. He really seems to like the marathon!

“But he’s very gentle,” he added. “He’s pretty light.

You have a good contact, but he’s not heavy until he gets into the obstacles. Then he takes a little more, which I actually like. I can steer more easily and there’s not a delayed reaction.”

Driving Sparks a Passion Riley, who also participates in US Equestrian’s popular Lettering Program, got an early start in equestrian sport.

PHOTOS: ALEX FLANNIGAN, PICSOFYOU.COM (OPPOSITE)

Riley Wiltison has found a great combined driving partner in the brave and hardy Willow’s Aslan

“I couldn’t wait to have a child and get them a pony,” his mom Billie, a lifelong horse-lover herself, said. “That’s why Riley got his first pony as a Christmas gift at two months old; we joke that Mrs. Claus was a little ahead of herself on the pony timing.”

Riley started off in the saddle on a Shetland pony named Tony, but he got the driving bug when the Wiltisons’ neighbor, Cynthia Doll, let him drive one of her Welsh ponies when he was nine.

The sport combined two of Riley’s favorite things—speed and ponies—and also presented some new challenges that Riley enjoyed, like precisely negotiating the complex course of cones or, in its marathon phase, getting through obstacles successfully (and quickly).

“Driving was a bit more of a challenge, and there were different things to do, like go through the cones,” Riley explained. “With riding, I felt like I was just going around in circles in a ring. When I was younger, sometimes I’d see the local Amish driving their horses to church, but driving didn’t really fascinate me until I started doing it myself.”

“The first time Cynthia Doll let him drive a pony, we knew when he came home and told us about his day that this was different from anything else he had ever done,” said Billie. “There was a spark, an excitement, that we had never seen from Riley.”

Riley enjoys all of combined driving’s three phases.

“All three are fun because they all kind of tie in together,” he said. “When I first started driving, I couldn’t wait to be done with dressage and move on, but once I started working and really understanding things, I saw how the three phases tie together, and Tracey Morgan has definitely helped me with that.”

As Riley’s competition career heated up, the Wiltisons started searching for a serious driving pony who could make the perfect partner.

“We started off leasing a lot of other very nice ponies, but they just weren’t a good fit for me,” Riley recalled. “So we kept looking, for several years. Eleanor Parkes let me take Aslan on lease to Florida, and I drove him down there some. Then she said, ‘You can lease him longer or take him home,’ so we worked him at home and I got a couple of lessons from Tracey Morgan with him. I just kind of fell in love with him.”

The Wiltisons bought Aslan, and the partnership hasn’t looked back.

“We work well together, and he likes to compete,” Riley explained. “And he’s very easy to have around the barn—he leads well, and if you tie him he just stands—which makes him easy to work with. And he gets pretty fit easily.”

Importantly, though, Aslan and Riley click in competition.

“He’s just a really good pony and is willing to work for me,” Riley said.

Riley and Willow’s Aslan have formed a strong partnership.

“We work well together, and he likes to compete,” he said.

“He’s tough. He’s brave.

He’s always willing to go.”

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 51

MY FIRST student or we don’t go to competitions and we don’t go to Florida. Without the support of the school and his teachers, it just wouldn’t work.

“We recognize the confidence and responsibility driving and ponies have given Riley. He has learned that you don’t always come first in life and that you have to put the needs of something you care about over your own wants and needs,” she added. “Parents of Riley’s friends have commented to me that it is amazing that he is always thinking about his responsibilities (more so than a lot of adults). He will say to them, ‘I have to get home and feed the ponies.’

They are amazed that he does so much barn work.

“We help him some, but for the most part the barn work and care of the ponies is his responsibility. Our agreement is that if he wants them, he needs to take care of them.”

Riley’s dedication to his sport has drawn his family in, too, and that’s made them even closer, says Billie.

“My husband is not a horsey person at all,” she said. “When Riley was born, Chris said that I better learn to snow

ski, because Riley would be a race kid on the slopes and I would never see them if I didn’t learn to ski—he lost on that one! Despite losing in the hobby of choice, Chris still supports Riley. He has learned way more about horses than he ever wanted to, as it is a family event going to Riley’s competitions. We also have a lot of bonding time in the truck traveling to and from competitions and staying in the small horse-trailer living quarters.”

Chances are, they’ll have a lot more to cheer about as Riley pursues his competitive goals, including stepping up to the advanced level and someday competing in the FEI World Driving Championships.

“That’s kind of a goal,” he said.

In the immediate future, Riley is looking forward to another fun and successful season in 2019.

“He’s very fun and he’s fast in the hazards,” Riley said. “We’re having a good time together.”

Riley Wiltison and Willow’s Aslan on the marathon course

PHOTO: PICSOFYOU.COM

Driven to Learn and Improve Riley hasn’t given up on riding entirely.

He does take Aslan on occasional trail rides, where the gelding is just as amiable as he is in harness. “He just happily goes wherever,” Riley said.

But driving is Riley’s first love.

“I feel like there’s more of a partnership when I’m driving,” he explained.

“I feel like I’m more with them—I feel like I can teach them things, and they respond to me.”

Riley’s mom Billie and his dad Chris believe Riley’s involvement in driving has also taught him some important things.

“Chris and I are so happy that Riley found something that he is passionate about, something that drives him to do better and work harder,” Billie said.

“We are so proud of him for being willing to put in the time and train, and his desire to learn and be a better driver. It is also a great motivator for school—Riley knows that he has to have good grades in order to miss school for competitions and in order to get the support of his teachers while we are in Florida [in the winter]. He understands that he has to show them his work ethic and be a good

52 WINTER ISSUE 2018

We think about Safety Everyday #Safety365

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 53

HOT LINKS

Connect with

US Equestrian Age-Verify Your Horse Online

Learn More at USequestrian.org Our website is your one-stop resource for everything from horse services to free Safe Sport training to news. Discover a new breed or discipline, get training tips, and learn more about US Equestrian with the online Learning Center, which features more than 60 videos and a vast library of supplemental materials on a range of topics.

Keep on top of equestrian news, veterinary and horse-care information, and original stories with Equestrian Weekly, our weekly email newsletter— it’s free!

And get ready for show season with our comprehensive competition resources, where you’ll find an event calendar, rankings/results, and all the resources and forms you need—including the Rule Book. Need your Rule Book on the go? Visit the Rule Book page for links to download the free Rule Book app for iOS and Android devices.

54 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Joy on Tour Come visit US Equestrian’s booth at these events this winter and spring for official merchandise, free fan memberships, and more!

US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® Nov. 8-11, 2018 Kentucky Horse Park Lexington, Ky. usdf.org/usdressagefinals

American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention Dec. 1-5, 2018 Moscone Center San Francisco, Calif. convention.aaep.org

US Equestrian Annual Meeting Jan. 8-12, 2019 Hilton West Palm Beach West Palm Beach, Fla. USequestrian.org

Live Oak International March 7-10, 2019 Live Oak Plantation Ocala, Fla. liveoakinternational.com

Equine Affaire April 11-14, 2019 Ohio Expo Center Columbus, Ohio equineaffaire.com

PHOTOS: (LEFT) MIKE FERRARA, (ABOVE) US EQUESTRIAN

Age-verification is a new rule in Young Hunter classes and Jumper classes restricted by age of the horse. Save yourself time and hassle by age-verifying your horse before you go to a competition so your points will be good for the show. It’s fast and easy to do online.

Here’s how: • Go to USequestrian.org.

• Log in to your account, then click on “My USEF” at the top right of the screen, in the black menu bar.

• Scroll down and click on the tile for the horse you want to verify.

• You’ll see a header in red that says “Upload Age Verification.” Clicking this tab will take you to a page where you can upload your proper documentation.

• Use the Browse button to choose the file with your documents to upload.

• Click Submit.

USEF will review the paperwork and let you know when we have marked the horse in the system as Age Verified (typically a turnaround of less than three business days).

The documentation is not for all hunter and jumper classes; the age-verification rule is intended only for age-restricted classes.

For Young Hunters, hunter age restrictions are defined as horses under the age of seven. If your horse is eligible, you can compete in sections determined by height. See rule HU104.6 for these height sections. The horse can compete from December 1 through that competition year in which they reach the applicable age. The horse’s age must be verified by USEF using the following documents: registration papers or Certificate of Pedigree from a breed or sport horse registry OR passport issued by a World Breed Federation Sport Horserecognized registry. A horse may compete in only one height section at each competition.

For Young Jumpers, age-restricted classes are open only to horses recorded with USEF which have been age-verified. Age can be verified only through the following identification documents: registration papers or Certificate of Pedigree from a breed or sport horse registry OR passport issued by a WBFSH-recognized registry.

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 55

HOT LINKS

COMING UP ON USEF NETWORK US Equestrian members can access live streams and on-demand coverage on USEF Network. To catch all the action, visit USequestrian.org/network.

US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® Nov. 8-11 Lexington, Kentucky

PHOTO: SUSANJSTICKLE.COM

USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final Nov. 10 Kansas City, Missouri Las Vegas National Horse Show Nov. 13-18 Las Vegas, Nevada

USEF Annual Meeting Jan. 9-12 West Palm Beach, Florida Live Oak International March 7-10 Ocala, Florida All broadcast times and locations are subject to changes or cancellation. Please visit USequestrian. org/network to view the most up-to-date schedule.

USEF Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic Jan. 3-6 Wellington, Florida USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 57

TRENDING

from

Hoofto Heirloom

by Robin Roenker

JUSTIN’S HORSESHOE ART Justin Howard // Ellijay, Georgia justinshorseshoeart.com Justin Howard started tinkering with horseshoe creations in 2014. Fastforward four years, and crafting horseshoe art has become his full-time career. His wide-ranging designs include intricate horseshoe crosses ($25$40+), yard-art butterflies ($40), dragonflies ($25), business card holders ($14), picture frames ($18), towel holders ($40), wine racks ($50), custom signs—spelling names or inspirational themes like Hope and Love (price varies)—and much more. “My crosses, hearts, and dragonflies have been crowd favorites everywhere I go,” he says.

For Howard—who uses recycled shoes almost exclusively—giving new life to something used has become a calling: “It’s very therapeutic to be under the shield, welding and creating,” he says. “I just get in my own zone and make the world go away.” Looking for a one-of-a-kind piece? Howard also creates striking, three-dimensional sculptures from horseshoes—including horse heads and more ($375+).

58 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTOS: (TOP) KARL MAASDAM, (INSETS) JUSTIN HOWARD

Looking for unique ways to express your love of all things equine? What about a wine rack crafted from horseshoes? Or a door wreath? Yard art? Even a lamp?

The sky’s the limit in horseshoe art these days.

Metal artisans across the country are discovering that horseshoes—designed to be easily malleable, to better fit hooves—offer the perfect medium to let their creativity and imagination flow.

Whether you’re looking for a small touch of whimsy—think horseshoes reborn as business card holders or drink coasters—or an heirloom-quality art piece, the five horseshoe artisans profiled here can craft what you’re after.

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TRENDING

NONESUCH HORSESHOE DESIGNS Mike and Wendy Young // Nonesuch, Kentucky facebook.com/nonesuchhorseshoedesigns Husband-and-wife team Mike and Wendy Young started out creating horseshoe pieces for friends about six years ago.

But their designs were so popular, they eventually launched a Facebook page to showcase their horseshoe lamps ($75), door wreaths ($40+), Christmas trees ($85), coaster sets ($40), stools ($75), beverage holders ($30), word art, and more. Some pieces, like their fall pumpkins ($30), are created solely with new shoes, while others are formed using upcycled ones. The Youngs prefer a dark black patina for their finished creations, achieved using an acid wash and flash cooling. As a farrier and welder, Mike provides the metalworking know-how, while Wendy delivers inspiration for their ever-expanding offerings.

“I like coming up with items that are unique to us,” she says.

They’re also happy to make custom pieces using customers’ own horseshoes. Says Wendy: “We can put brass name plates with the horse’s name on it, and it becomes a special keepsake.”

LAKAT GALLERY Multiple artisans // Naches, Washington lakatgallery.com/horseshoe-art Rather than leave its workers entirely without work when its lumberyard closed, Washington state’s Layman Lumber Company launched LaKat Gallery in Naches in 2008. It’s now a unique space that retails wood furniture and crafts, jewelry, fiber arts, and a full line of fun and whimsical horseshoe art.

Designs first spearheaded by now-retired employee Gary Jetton are being carried on by current LaKat Gallery artisans Tracy Sorenson and Robert Weekes. “The first summer that Gary created his horseshoe flowers, we just could not keep them on the floor,” says LaKat’s Gail Welch. Ten years later, LaKat’s horseshoe creations still have a devoted following.

From yard-art flowers ($35) to welcome signs ($42.50), candle holders ($21.50), cup hangers ($24.50), and rodeo-ready cowboy condiment holders ($57.50), LaKat’s painted horseshoe designs bring a festive pop of color—and cuteness—to settings both inside and out.

60 WINTER ISSUE 2018

FAITHA NDJORD AN

PHOTOS: (TOP) COURTESY OF DONNA APPLEGARTH MENTINK, (MIDDLE) US EQUESTRIAN (BOTTOM) COURTESY OF LAKAT GALLERY

FAITHANDJORDAN Donna Applegarth Mentink // Osceola, Nebraska etsy.com/shop/faithandjordan Through her Etsy shop, FaithAndJordan—which specializes in reclaimed metal and horseshoe creations—Nebraska rancher and mother of four Donna Applegarth Mentink has found the perfect way to blend her two passions: horses and art. Her unique yard-art flowers ($52) have petals and leaves created from reclaimed horseshoes, with recycled metal sprockets finding new life as the center. Mentink also offers heart-shaped garden stakes ($30), horseshoe crosses ($30+, depending on size and design), horseshoe stars ($40), wreaths ($69), and painted orange pumpkins ($49), perfect for fall décor—all crafted from unused horseshoes in various sizes. “My crosses are my biggest seller,” Mentink says, “but my newest addition has been the hearts, and they’ve become very popular as well.”

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 61

OREGON HORSESHOE ART Bud Thomas // Philomath, Oregon budthomas.com Looking for a larger statement piece? Horseshoe craftsman Bud Thomas lives for creating on a large scale—the bigger the better. His life-size, three-dimensional sculptures of horses, turtles, eagles, elk, jaguars, blue herons, dogs, owls, and more—all made entirely from horseshoes—are breathtaking in their intricacy and craftsmanship. It was just six years ago that Thomas found his true calling as a full-time horseshoe artist while tinkering around with the welder in his auto repair shop. Many of his pieces take 700 or more horseshoes—a mix of both new and old—to create. His finished pieces illustrate his skill in working across an array of patinas and finishes, from silver to transparent copper. And, because he’s a lover of animals of all kinds, nothing’s off limits in terms of design: inspirations for his sculptures come from his own ideas or from clients’ custom orders. “My biggest problem is that I have a habit of getting out of control with my sculptures,” Thomas admits. “I’d love to create a grizzly bear charging up boulders with a fish in its mouth. Or three or four horses running together—that’s the scale I love.” Thomas’s pieces range from $1,000-$5,000 (small pieces) to $10,000-$20,000 (large pieces).

62 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTO: KARL MAASDAM

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 63

HORSE HEALTH

Antibiotic Resistance is Real.

Here’s How You Can Help.

by Glenye Cain Oakford

Dr. Michele Frazer of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute explains five ways you can help in the fight against drugresistant bacteria.

64 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Don’t pre-emptively put every horse in your barn on antibiotics as preventive medicine. If a horse seems ill, get a veterinary diagnosis.

PHOTO: ADOBESTOCK/GABE9000C

If you’ve got an old bottle of leftover antibiotics sitting in your tack room, it might be tempting to use it the next time you have a horse with an issue. But giving those antibiotics without a veterinary diagnosis and prescription could contribute to an issue that’s got veterinarians and human doctors concerned: antibiotic resistance.

“It’s definitely an issue, and it’s not just in the horse world,” said Dr. Michele Frazer of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. “It’s an emerging issue over the last several decades. It’s an issue in the human world, as well, and our veterinary practices can affect the issue of antibiotic resistance in the human population. That’s the big concern.”

Here’s why. Bacteria can change, or mutate, over time. As they are exposed to different antibiotics, those mutations can help the bacteria become more effective at surviving—in other words, they can become resistant to the drugs that are supposed to kill them.

“When antibiotic resistance occurs, we can have development of what are called superbugs, or multi-resistant bacteria,” Frazer explained. “Those are bacteria that are resistant maybe not to all antibiotics, but to many of our commonly used antibiotics. If a person or an animal develops a disease from those bacteria, the treatment options are limited.”

This isn’t just hypothetical. Antibiotic resistance is a real problem that doctors and veterinarians are already dealing with in their patients.

“There are several multi-resistant superbugs that have emerged in the last few years,” Frazer said. “Two of the big ones that I’ve seen in the equine world are Clostridium difficile and MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus]. Both of these bacteria are found in the environment.

The issue is that they have changed their drug-resistance until they are much harder to treat.

“Clostridium difficile causes gastrointestinal disease, and it can also cause kidney disease in horses and humans. As this bacteria has changed, it’s become harder to find antibiotics that

OSPHOS® (clodronate injection) Bisphosphonate For use in horses only.

Brief Summary (For Full Prescribing Information, see package insert) CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.

DESCRIPTION: Clodronate disodium is a non-amino, chlorocontaining bisphosphonate. Chemically, clodronate disodium is (dichloromethylene) diphosphonic acid disodium salt and is manufactured from the tetrahydrate form.

INDICATION: For the control of clinical signs associated with navicular syndrome in horses.

CONTRAINDICATIONS: Horses with hypersensitivity to clodronate disodium should not receive OSPHOS. WARNINGS: Do not use in horses intended for human consumption.

HUMAN WARNINGS: Not for human use. Keep this and all drugs out of the reach of children. Consult a physician in case of accidental human exposure.

PRECAUTIONS: As a class, bisphosphonates may be associated with gastrointestinal and renal toxicity. Sensitivity to drug associated adverse reactions varies with the individual patient.

Renal and gastrointestinal adverse reactions may be associated with plasma concentrations of the drug. Bisphosphonates are excreted by the kidney; therefore, conditions causing renal impairment may increase plasma bisphosphonate concentrations resulting in an increased risk for adverse reactions. Concurrent administration of other potentially nephrotoxic drugs should be approached with caution and renal function should be monitored. Use of bisphosphonates in patients with conditions or diseases affecting renal function is not recommended.

Administration of bisphosphonates has been associated with abdominal pain (colic), discomfort, and agitation in horses.

Clinical signs usually occur shortly after drug administration and may be associated with alterations in intestinal motility. In horses treated with OSPHOS these clinical signs usually began within 2 hours of treatment. Horses should be monitored for at least 2 hours following administration of OSPHOS.

Easily Administered

via intramuscular injection

OSPHOS

®

controls the clinical signs associated with Navicular Syndrome

Well Tolerated* in clinical trials

Proven Efficacy*

at 6 months post treatment

No Reconstitution Required Learn more online

www.dechra-us.com www.osphos.com

As with all drugs, side effects may occur. In field studies, the most common side effects reported were signs of discomfort or nervousness, colic, and/or pawing. OSPHOS should not be used in pregnant or lactating mares, or mares intended for breeding. Use of OSPHOS in patients with conditions affecting renal function or mineral or electrolyte homeostasis is not recommended. Refer to the prescribing information for complete details or visit www.dechra-us.com or call 866.933.2472.

CAUTION: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of licensed veterinarian. * Freedom of Information Summary, Original New Animal Drug Application, NADA 141-427, for OSPHOS. April 28, 2014.

Dechra Veterinary Products US and the Dechra D logo are registered trademarks of Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC. © 2018 Dechra Ltd.

Bisphosphonates affect plasma concentrations of some minerals and electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, immediately post-treatment, with effects lasting up to several hours. Caution should be used when administering bisphosphonates to horses with conditions affecting mineral or electrolyte homeostasis (e.g. hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, hypocalcemia, etc.).

The safe use of OSPHOS has not been evaluated in horses less than 4 years of age. The effect of bisphosphonates on the skeleton of growing horses has not been studied; however, bisphosphonates inhibit osteoclast activity which impacts bone turnover and may affect bone growth.

Bisphosphonates should not be used in pregnant or lactating mares, or mares intended for breeding. The safe use of OSPHOS has not been evaluated in breeding horses or pregnant or lactating mares. Bisphosphonates are incorporated into the bone matrix, from where they are gradually released over periods of months to years. The extent of bisphosphonate incorporation into adult bone, and hence, the amount available for release back into the systemic circulation, is directly related to the total dose and duration of bisphosphonate use. Bisphosphonates have been shown to cause fetal developmental abnormalities in laboratory animals. The uptake of bisphosphonates into fetal bone may be greater than into maternal bone creating a possible risk for skeletal or other abnormalities in the fetus. Many drugs, including bisphosphonates, may be excreted in milk and may be absorbed by nursing animals.

Increased bone fragility has been observed in animals treated with bisphosphonates at high doses or for long periods of time.

Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption and decrease bone turnover which may lead to an inability to repair micro damage within the bone. In humans, atypical femur fractures have been reported in patients on long term bisphosphonate therapy; however, a causal relationship has not been established.

ADVERSE REACTIONS: The most common adverse reactions reported in the field study were clinical signs of discomfort or nervousness, colic and/or pawing. Other signs reported were lip licking, yawning, head shaking, injection site swelling, and hives/pruritus.

Distributed by: Dechra Veterinary Products 7015 College Boulevard, Suite 525 Overland Park, KS 66211 866-933-2472 © 2018 Dechra Ltd. OSPHOS is a registered trademark of Dechra Ltd. All rights reserved.

NADA 141-427, Approved by FDA

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 65

are appropriate to treat it. For immunocompromised people or people who have been in the hospital with another disease, a Clostridium difficile infection can be devastating.”

In 2014, the White House announced a National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, and the FDA is working to educate consumers about the perils of drug-resistance and how it’s connected to inappropriate antibiotic use, both in humans and animals.

“They are trying to get it out there to the public,” Frazer said of the federal efforts.

“It’s important to remember that antibiotics aren’t benign,” cautioned Frazer.

“Even aside from the drug-resistance, they’re not benign. We can certainly see complications from them in any species, particularly the horse. A veterinarian’s job is to look at what is wrong with the horse, what they can define as the primary cause of the illness, and then decide which antibiotic is appropriate and if the benefit of using that antibiotic outweighs the potential side-effects of using an antibiotic.”

Top: An illustration of Clostridium difficile, a multi-resistant superbug that can cause kidney disease in both horses and humans.

Below: Beware of using antibiotics like SMZs that you might have on hand without getting a veterinarian’s diagnosis.

66 WINTER ISSUE 2018

How You Can Help Prevent Antibiotic-Resistance How you administer antibiotics to your horse—and how you yourself take them when they’re prescribed to you—can affect the risk level for antibiotic-resistance, which goes up with inappropriate or indiscriminate antibiotic use. Here’s how you can help.

1. DON’T give antibiotics without consulting your vet.

“Just because a horse has a fever or a horse isn’t quite right one day, you don’t necessarily give antibiotics,” Frazer said. “Unless you have a defined medical reason to start an antibiotic and a veterinarian working with you, you don’t want to start antibiotics. You want to have a valid reason to treat with antibiotics. You also want your veterinarian on board, too, to make sure you’re using an appropriate dosage.

Underdosing means you’re just suppressing the bacteria, not killing it.”

Get a veterinary diagnosis for a horse’s problem, even if you think you know what the diagnosis will be.

“There are certain types of pneumonia in the horse, like Rhodococcus pneumonia in foals, that respond to a select few antibiotics; the majority of our antibiotics aren’t going to respond,” Frazer explained. “So you need your veterinarian participating with you to define what your horse has and then choose the correct antibiotic. Putting the horse on a different antibiotic, first, is not going to help your horse, and, second, it’s an unnecessary use of an antibiotic that’s contributing to the development of drug-resistance.”

2. DO complete the entire course of antibiotics that your veterinarian has prescribed.

It might be tempting to stop giving your horse antibiotics once he’s looking and feeling better, but don’t give in to that temptation. If your vet has prescribed a twoweek course of antibiotics and your horse seems great after 10 days, go on and finish out the full 14 days.

“What we don’t want to do is start an antibiotic protocol and not finish it,” Frazer said. “That basically suppresses the bacteria but doesn’t actually kill it. It just allows that bacteria a window to start mutating to a form that is going to be resistant to antibiotics.”

3. DO keep accurate weights for your horses to help ensure accurate dosages.

4. DON’T pre-emptively put all the horses in your barn on antibiotics thinking it’s good preventive medicine.

Consult with your veterinarian before putting any horse on antibiotics. Unnecessary antibiotic use in a healthy horse can contribute to resistance.

5. DON’T use antibiotics past their expiration dates.

These practices are important in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So is research that can develop new ways to combat disease-causing bacteria.

“There is also ongoing research at many levels, including the National Institutes of Health, trying to combat drug-resistance and to develop new antibiotics,” Frazer said. “I think there’s hope. Research will give us more options, and at the same time we have to be judicious and do our part by not using antibiotics unnecessarily and, when antibiotic use is necessary, by making sure it’s the appropriate antibiotic choice and that we complete the course.”

PHOTOS: US EQUESTRIAN (LEFT), ADOBESTOCK/KATERYNA KON (TOP RIGHT)

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Opportunity Use winter to freshen up and develop skills, these trainers say.

BY GLENYE CAIN OAKFORD

PHOTO: ANRD.NL/CHARLES MANN

When winter sets in, don’t let your time with your horse go into a deep freeze. Even if you take a break from competing or if wintry weather forces you to change your usual training routine, there are still things you and your equine partner can do to stay mentally fresh and maintain skills.

Winter can also be a good time for both of you to learn something new, perfect a nagging training issue, brush up on basics, or just change things up for a new perspective.

We talked to trainers and athletes from several disciplines to get their advice, and a common theme emerged: the value of cross-training and variety, for both horse and human.

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USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 71

Teach and Experiment

72 WINTER ISSUE 2018

“I do a lot of my training out in open fields or through the woods, whether I’m riding or driving,” says Suzy Stafford.

“That keeps their minds a little fresh while they’re learning new things.”

PHOTOS: JENNIFER MANDERSHEID (LEFT), ARND.NL/STACEY WIGMORE (RIGHT)

“See the winter as an opportunity, and try to make the most of it,” said Smith Lilly, the author of Saddle Seat Horsemanship and a trainer who’s presented the winners of more than 100 World’s Championship titles. “For me, it’s a more enjoyable time to train horses, because you can experiment a little bit and you can afford to make a mistake. It’s a fun time to test different things and how horses respond to different techniques.”

Lilly’s show season usually ends in November, and he finds winter a great time to teach a horse a new skill—like how to rack—or to perfect an existing skill at a time when show deadlines aren’t looming.

“For instance, maybe we want to teach a horse to drive or maybe it’s a horse that has had a canter issue, so we really focus on that canter,” Lilly said.

It’s also a good time to teach young horses their jobs, perfect their ground manners, or teach them specific skills that will be helpful during competition season.

“Most of what I have through the winter are young horses, so I’m focused on putting a really solid base education on them,” said Suzy Stafford of Stafford Carriage Driving in Franklinville, N.J., who has earned numerous national and international titles in the sport of combined driving. “I work on manners, standing, being good for manepulling—I do a lot of that stuff through the winter.

I also teach all of my horses how to ground-tie. I don’t cross tie them, because with the carriages they really have to be able to stand nicely. They have to stand to hitch, and you don’t always have This is the photo caption text. access to a knowledgeable header in the shows.”

If winter weather or lack of facilities prevent you from exercising your horse, spend time interacting with him, whether with ground work, grooming, or simply socializing.

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 73

Variety is the Spice of Training “You have to worry about any horse getting bored with their training, and you don’t want that to happen any more in the winter than you do in the summer,” observed Lilly. “Variety is the key to keeping any horse interested.”

Longer dark hours and, in some climates, stretches of inclement weather can make it harder for horse and equestrian to maintain interest in the winter. But even if you’re confined to an indoor arena, there are ways to make the daily routine engaging.

“We might work a horse six days a week, but we’ll long-line one day, drive one day, and ride one day,” Lilly said. “We might work on their canter one day; we might work on trot transitions another day. We might turn a horse loose in side reins and without a rider one day in the winter freeschool with assistance from the ground,” similar to using free-jumping in other disciplines.

“There are a whole lot of ways you can work a horse in an indoor arena so that they don’t think they’re getting the same thing every day,” he said. “Offer any sort of variety you can.”

“I do a lot of my training out in open fields or through the woods, whether I’m riding or driving,” said Stafford. “That keeps their minds a little fresh while they’re learning new things.”

Stafford also incorporates cavaletti into her horses’ work, another useful and relatively simple solution for equestrians who find themselves indoors or with less room to work with during the winter months. “I use cavaletti to give the horse a little something different to do, and I also find that they teach a horse to find its own balance when they essentially have to think on their own and figure out how to place their feet,” Stafford said. “I train a lot of young horses, and it helps them find their balance without my having to dictate every movement.

“I will longe on a circle with four or five raised cavaletti on a trot distance on a curve,” she explained. “If I’m on a circle, I’ll do four raised cavaletti 74 WINTER ISSUE 2018

PHOTOS: ARND.NL/ARND BRONKHORST

“VARIETY IS THE KEY TO KEEPING ANY HORSE INTERESTED.”

Left: Getting your horse or pony out of the ring or arena or trying a different discipline can help prevent boredom.

Below: Cavaletti and ground pole exercises can add a different element to your training routine while improving horse and rider balance.

at a corner and use those at a canter to help a horse find a good rhythm and balance in the canter. Those are probably the two cavaletti exercises I use the most. Essentially, all you need for that is a 20- or 25-meter circle and cavaletti.”

Snow might not provide ideal training conditions, but Stafford notes that sometime you can even make use of that. “I’ll take them for walks in the deep snow—that’s good for them,” she said. “I’ll pony one off of another horse I’m riding so they can go out together. The work isn’t that physically strenuous, but it’s good for them mentally, and they’re still getting out there and moving their bodies around.”

You can also give your horse something to do in his stall by introducing a toy.

“We will hang a jolly ball or a road cone or a Likit toy, or even just an old-school hay bag,” Lilly said. “I can’t stand it if a horse isn’t content in his stall. How can they work well if they’re not happy and relaxed in their stalls? If they don’t seem happy, we might switch out their neighbor or change them to a different venue. We have a hallway of stalls and we also have an outside shedrow, and we might move the horse from one to the other, depending on how they seem. And plenty of exercise is also important. If a horse is just standing in a stall for 23 hours a day and not getting much exercise, yes, they’re going to get restless and fret. So even if it’s cold and the weather is bad, get out there and do something with them.”

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 75

PHOTOS: JENNIFER KEELER (LEFT), TAYLOR PENCE/US EQUESTRIAN (BELOW)

Above: “As a driver, cross-training for me is riding,” says Suzy Stafford, who winters in Florida. In the saddle, Stafford uses dressage and hill work to build strength and suppleness.

Right: “It’s not only physically beneficial for her, but I think she also enjoys learning the new things,” vaulter Mary McCormick said of dressage training for her black Percheron mare, Paris.

76 WINTER ISSUE 2018

Train Across Disciplines Adding some dressage to your horse’s schooling can be an excellent way to promote self-carriage and fitness and mental stimulation.

“I have a Percheron mare, and she doesn’t really have a natural predisposition for dressage, so I keep it simple,” said Mary McCormick, a Colorado-based two-time USEF Vaulter of the Year and veteran of four FEI World Equestrian Games™, including Tryon 2018. “We work on being able to bend her body and being able to yield her hind end and her front end. It’s not only physically beneficial for her, but I think she also enjoys learning the new things.”

Dressage helps build fitness, suppleness, and maneuverability, all good things for any horse, whether he’s out on the trails, working cattle, negotiating a rollback in the jumper ring, or strutting his stuff in the show ring.

“We do a fair amount of dressage,” saddle seat trainer Lilly said. “When we work on canter transitions, it’s similar to a dressage workout. We do canter spirals, where you start on a circle and spiral into a smaller circle, then spiral back out. We work on canter-to-trot and walk-to-canter transitions, and I do some very basic lateral work, like leg yields and shoulder-in.

In the show ring, you have to be able to maneuver your horse in traffic, especially in those big 20-horse classes at Louisville [in the World’s Championship show]. If you can’t maneuver, you’re at a severe disadvantage. So anything you can do to make your horse maneuverable, it makes it a better horse, no matter what your discipline.

“I think a lot of horses also benefit from driving,” Lilly added.

“That’s something any horse in any discipline could do, and it’s a way to exercise a horse and use different muscles. You can build up a lot of strength in a horse through driving. When you look at those combined driving horses, those are some of the strongest horses behind of any horses competing in any discipline. I think driving is a good way to build up a horse’s strength and endurance and give them some variety in their training.”

Long-lining (also known as long-reining) is another way to school a horse without getting on his back.

“You can develop a really high level of responsiveness in your horse to your aids, your body positioning and body language, and verbal cues,” Lilly said.

“As a driver, cross-training for me is riding,” said combined driving champion Stafford. “I do it for a few reasons. I can use the horse’s muscles in a little bit different way, either under saddle or longeing cavaletti work, than I can driving. It’s just like a person going to the gym: the more you can strengthen each individual muscle, the stronger you’re going to be. There are also some limitations to the carriage. With the way the equipment is on the horse, we can’t necessarily get them as laterally supple as we can under saddle. That’s part of the reason they do get ridden. It also helps prevent the mental stagnation and boredom that can come from doing the same thing over and over every day. Sometimes horses like doing a little bit different job.

“When I’m riding, my training is similar to what you’d do for a ridden dressage horse,” Stafford explained. “Our driving horses need to be very laterally supple and have a lot of elasticity and power, so a lot of the riding I do is geared more toward ridden dressage types of exercises. I tend to do a lot of lateral work when my horse is under saddle, because it’s much, much easier to do when you’re riding than it is when you’re driving. We have limitations that come with having shafts on the carriage.

“I also do a little more hill work than I would do in the carriage, just because the hill work is difficult in itself with the carriage, and it’s a little easier on the horse to do them without pulling weight when you add more extreme hill work.”

Western dressage is a low-key way to introduce any horse and rider to some dressage principles, says trainer Cliff Swanson,

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 77

78 WINTER ISSUE 2018

A Little R & R Increased turnout time after the rigors of a competition season also can do a horse or pony a world of good.

“For a finished horse—a mature horse that’s been to the show ring for a season or more—we’ll try to give them three months off, either barefoot or with just a plain front shoe and barefoot behind, so they can go out together with a friend,” Lilly said. “It’s important for two reasons. First, we all need a vacation. That’s a good vacation for these horses, and it’s their reward for working hard during the season. It’s good for them mentally, and it’s also good for them physically.

“Second, horses train hard, they’re athletes, and sometimes they get little aches and pains. To me, three months is enough time to let them get over anything like that. If a horse has a little nagging issue, giving them that time is really helpful. When they come back, they don’t come back into full training right away, either; we build up their training again gradually.”

Whether your horse or pony is playing in a paddock during his time off or doing a little ground work every now and then, vacation doesn’t mean inertia. A literal change of scenery also can mentally refresh horse and human while still keeping them physically fit.

“We do a lot of trail riding,” said McCormick, the vaulting athlete. “I have a normal practice of going on trail-riding holidays with my horses. We’ll find a state park that has trails and spend a few days going out, going up and down hills, letting them cross streams and experiment with different terrain.

“On a regular basis at home, we’re lucky enough to have access to trails that come right off of the farm. We try to get the horses out at least once a week as a little refresher for them and for me, too. It’s nice to enjoy them for what they are and not always ask them to do something for training or to prepare for a competition.

It’s nice just to spend time together. It’s good for our relationship, as well.”

Inset: Western dressage is a low-key way to introduce any horse and rider to some dressage principles, says trainer Cliff Swanson.

“The 20-meter circle is a perfect circle for teaching,” says Swanson. “It puts a slight bend in the horse’s body and you can now use your inside leg to your outside rein.”

PHOTOS: US EQUESTRIAN (OPPOSITE TOP), HOLLY CLANAHAN/WDAA (OPPOSITE BELOW)

owner of Swan’s Training Stables in Castle Rock, Colo., and a founding member of the Western Dressage Association of America. “We do this with loose reins and nice, soft mouths in a methodical, step-by-step way,” Swanson said. “It can help anyone. For example, if a person trail rides, when their horse goes by brush, trees, rocks, or other obstacles, people will sometime get their knees or leg knocked on those items because they don’t know how to move their horse over. If you can teach your horse to leg yield, you can leg yield around a tree and not scrape on rocks and trees.

“Being able to control your horse and direct your horse where you’d like it to go—forward, backward, and stopping on command—if that’s all you do, the safety factor from learning this is huge. It adds safety and fun, and the horses love it, because the horses are now connected to the rider.

“When people ride with me, one of the bible verses they have to learn is, ‘Inside leg to outside rein,’” Swanson continued. “It’s surprising how many riders hang on that inside rein and pull it toward their leg. But if you do that on, say, a left-hand bend, you’re not allowing your horse’s left front leg to fulfill its pattern of flight and it short-strides. Then the inside hind leg—which is what gives you all your power—also short-strides, because the horse doesn’t want to step on himself.”

Swanson suggests the following exercise to test your ability to ride from the inside leg to the outside rein.

First, ride a 20-meter circle. “The 20-meter circle is a perfect circle for teaching,” he said. “It puts a slight bend in the horse’s body and you can now use your inside leg to your outside rein.”

If you’re not riding inside leg to outside rein correctly, your horse’s shoulder will fall into the middle of the circle or drift outside the circle. To help yourself gauge your progress, Swanson suggests even marking the circle out in flour.

Once you’ve become proficient at keeping your horse bending properly on the 20-meter circle, ride a 10-meter circle at each of the “compass points”—north, south, east, and west—inside the original 20-meter circle.

“Each time you do a 10-meter circle, go back and do a 20-meter circle,” said Swanson. “Do this exercise at a walk, and then try it at a jog or trot. Eventually, as you get proficient, you can do it at a lope or canter. If you do these circles correctly, you’ll have your horse working well on your inside leg and outside rein. If you don’t do a circle correctly, you’re going to have trouble staying in pattern.”

Swanson also suggests riding through the middle of a 20-meter circle and changing direction each time, riding one half of the circle going in one direction and the other half of the circle going in the opposite direction.

“This will let you change bend two times in a 20-meter circle, so you can practice changing inside leg to outside leg and inside rein to outside rein,” he said. “I’ve had people who do this after the first snow, and when they ride off they can see the pattern in the snow.”

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 79

PERFECT PRESENTS

If the idea of searching for the ideal gift for everyone on your list leaves you feeling frazzled, US Equestrian is here to bring the joy back to your holiday gift-giving. We looked high and low to find the perfect thing for the people and animals in your life (and in your barn), from blankets to breeches to boots to bling. Even if your list is as long as Santa’s, you’ll find something for almost everyone—including yourself.

80 WINTER ISSUE 2018

ILLUSTRATIONS: CANDICE MCCOWN

BY KIM RUSSELL

1

Channing Tote

Mindfilly Bands

Handmade in Ohio with e co - f r i e n d l y b e s p o ke fabric, the Channing Tote is ultra-versatile. Per-

The perfect accessory to help you stay tuned into your mental game when you’re in the saddle.

Fully reversible with a fun, equestrian graphic pattern on one side and an inspiring mantra on the other, these stretchy wristbands will fit most any wrist. $10 each maregoods.com

fect for last-minute barn essentials or for everyday work and play, this bag is the schoolmaster of your bag collection. $65 maregoods.com

2

3 Renwick & Sons Brushware Collection This beautiful complete grooming kit is designed to make light work of this essential part of day-to-day horse care and competition turnout.

Featuring all the tools you need to groom your horse to perfection, the kit comes in a stunning, hardwearing steel briefcase and is presented in beautiful packaging, with a handwritten gift card option at checkout. $529.60 renwickandsons.co.uk

4

Unbelts

The Jax Bandana

Unbelts keep riding pants from sagging, and their stretchy flexible fabric moves with you.

Best of all, Unbelts are perfectly invisible under show jackets and don’t add any bulk to areas where riders want to look smooth. Available in a variety of colors. $35 unbelts.com

This simple accessory delivers instant style effortlessly. Tie on this bandana to scout out your dog’s next adventure.

This hand-selected pattern was sewn in Los Angeles and is available in limited quantities. $20 lucyand.co

5

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 81

7 8 Tartan Plaid Reversible Puffer Dog Vest

6

Lauracea Convertible Back Pack Tote We’re converted! This versatile bag, shown in caramel Italian Nappa leather, is both tote and back pack.

Also available at varying prices in matte waterproof leather, natural grain calf, and Lauracea’s signature peony printed lambskin. $1,185 to $1,388 lauracea.com

Mix winter warmth and classic style for a walk in the park. Designed for the on-the-go dog. $45 lucyand.co

9

Personalized Chambray/ Denim Shirt Show your style in this lightweight, handembroidered shirt with a Western flair.

Snap closures. Embroidery is custom.

Up to 14 letters. $110 etsy.com/shop/SilverOaksFarm

Eleanor Stone Bracelets Eleanor Stone takes beautiful antique and vintage jewels and reimagines them into cool, modern leather cuffs. Cuffs are made of thick, luxe Italian leather that wraps around your wrist. Whether you are wearing jeans and a tee or a little black dress, throw on an Eleanor Stone NYC cuff to add a touch of laid-back luxury and instant chic. $480 and up eleanorstonenyc.com

Rideamals™ Scout™ Play and Ride Pony This adorable pony combines rideon fun with interactive play, as it comes to life with fully motorized eyes, ears, head, and wheels.

Scout has over 100 sounds and movements, including a special pony dance! Scout comes with a grooming brush, carrot, apple, saddlebag, and a rechargeable 12-volt battery. $399 walmart.com

10

82 WINTER ISSUE 2018

11

EquiFit Essential Bell Boot with Wool or Rolled Fleece

The bell boot is made of lightweight, waterproof foam with a durable Everleather covering. It has double hook-and-loop closure to ensure a secure fit and features a rolled-top fleece edge that prevents rubs or an anti-microbial SheepsWool top that prevents rubs and irritation. $55.95-$69.95 equifit.net

Perfect Fit Logo Sweater

12

This stylish yet functional piece is lightweight and can be worn alone or layered, making it the perfect go-to piece. Made from an incredibly comfortable and breathable merino wool blend that helps regulate natural body temperature for just the right amount of warmth. $90 equestrianista.com

13 Insulated Wine Mug Whether it’s premium merlot or chilled bubbly, celebrate every part of living the equestrian dream with this insulated wine mug. $24.95 spiced.ca

Weird Horse Girl Phone Case The Soft-Touch phone case is scratch-resistant and feels great in your hand.

Available in many phone styles. $24.99 spiced.ca

14

Monogram Saddle Plate Feminine and sophisticated. The perfect way to show your style at the show and at the barn. $30 swankysaddle.com

15

Handmade Keychain

16

The perfect stocking-stuffer, available in horse or fox motif. Handmade wool and felt. $14 etsy.com/shop/SilverOaksFarm

USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 83

17

Ariat Alora Boot Combining technology and style for all of life’s adventures, the Alora is a standout. Long, lean, and slim-fitting, it is country-inspired refinement at its best. Features ATS® technology for stability and all-day comfort. Premium, unlined waterproof nubuck upper. Classic braiding and tassel details. $279.95 ariat.com

EquiFit Essential Girth with

SheepsWool or SmartFabric Liner The Essential schooling girth features double 1.5” elastic at both ends to help evenly distribute pressure. Available in SheepsWool or SmartFabric. Both liners are removable and machine-washable for easy care. $89.95-$99.95 equifit.net

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Lucky Shoe Necklace Keep your lucky charm close. This elegant chain is home to an offset, 3 mm rose-cut diamond. Offered in yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold (shown in rose gold); chain is 18” with a 16” option. $950.00 hattiebanks.com

Ashley Vest in Teal Extreme This vest is ready for the ride in seconds and is so easy to admire for its quilted chevron stitch detailing.

Cool Climate Insulation™ provides optimal lightweight comfort and warmth. $69.95 ariat.com

SmartPak Deluxe Turnout Blanket

in Hunter Plaid w/ Navy Trim & Elm Piping

20 Piper Breeches by SmartPak The perfect choice to wear in the schooling ring. With many stylish color options to choose from, these breeches can be mixed and matched to create the perfect outfit. The ergonomic design makes these breeches comfortable to wear all day long with excellent shape retention. $79.95 (knee patch) and $89.95 (full seat) smartpak.com

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Designed to give your horse a superior fit with uncompromising quality and construction. This blanket features a 1200 denier ripstop polyester outer layer that is tough enough to stand up to winter’s worst. It is also waterproof and breathable to keep your horse warm, dry, and protected throughout the colder seasons. Available in medium/light (100 g), medium (220 g), and heavy (360 g) weights. $149.95-$169.95 smartpak.com

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Rambo Fleece Competition Sheet This sheet is double-bonded, anti-pill fleece that has excellent thermal value and high wicking properties, with a contoured competition cut to wrap around the saddle and allow the rider’s leg to work effectively. $105 horseware.com

Dover Saddlery Crown II Jacket Delivers 100% waterproof coverage and warmth while offering shapely design lines for a feminine fit. A shorter-length version of the popular Tribute Parka, this ladies’ coat is fully seam-taped for leak-proof coverage.

It features breathable outer fabric with 160 grams of down-like fill as insulation. A soft lining in the upper body envelops you in comfort. $169 doversaddlery.com

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Kids’ Horse Printed Jacket This fabulous jacket is fleece-lined— extra-snuggly for the winter!—and created in water-repellant and breathable fabric with an exclusive equestrian print. This is the ultimate practical but fashion-fabulous jacket for little girls who love horses. $95 horseware.com

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Equus Candles Available in a variety of scents including Apples & Grass, Hay & Molasses, Carrot & Sugar, and Oat & Honey. Twelve-ounce candles in premium soy wax and repurposed glass. $24 equuscandles.com

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Rambo Duo Two blankets in one! The Rambo Duo combines the Rambo Turnout with a liner for the ultimate all-season blanket. Waterproof and breathable, this duo allows you to decide the level of protection with a removable liner and hood. $449 horseware.com

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Ariat H2O Parka Show your support for the U.S. Equestrian Team with the official Ariat H2O Parka with zip-in vest, worn

by U.S. Equestrian Team athletes at competitions around the world, such as the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™. The H2O Parka has waterproof construction to keep out the wind and rain. The coordinating zip-in premium down vest provides exceptional warmth with minimal bulk. Wear them together or separately—they’re two practical pieces that make one perfect combination. $350 shopusef.com

TechQuilt Sport This new sport pad has breathable, non-slip mesh under the saddle and anti-friction ETC™ under the leg to keep your saddle in place so you can focus on the ride. Available with either Stay Dry™ lining for the best in moisture management, or non-slip lining to keep the saddle in place. High-profile contoured topline for maximum wither clearance and lightweight, breathable materials for the best performance. Designed for the rigors of jumping and cross-country, the TechQuilt Sport fits a wide range of saddles and will keep the saddle securely in place. $149.95 toklat.com

Dover Saddlery EZ Wash Bolster Dog Bed The bed is a two-piece design that makes it easier to wash than most other bolster beds. In the tack room, at a horse show, or even at home, this dog bed boasts one of the smartest designs on the market. The super-tough, washable materials stand up to muddy paws, while the plush, poly-filled cushioning ensures comfortable napping. $119-$189 doversaddlery.com

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selective breeding and training methods have developed the horse’s natural ability to excel in a number of sports, from dressage to polo, carriage driving to Western sports, jumping to endurance, and more. In the end, achieving sporting excellence is all about teamwork between horse and human.

Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horses in Their Lives Edited by Verna Dreisbach // Seal Press With a forward by Jane Smiley, this collection of 26 personal essays takes you from a Navajo reservation in the high desert to the quiet interior of a dressage ring and places in between as the writers explore how horses have contributed to their lives—and the personalities of those horses, too. As Smiley writes in the foreword, “If they are similar enough to do every

The Book of the Horse: Horses in Art Angus Hyland and Caroline Roberts // Laurence King Publishing Through more than 100 paintings by such diverse talents as Stubbs, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Magritte, Frink, and Freud, this elegant volume celebrates the horse in all its aspects and roles, from sporting athlete to war horse to beloved pet. The art is accompanied by notes about the artists, as well as entertaining horse-related quotes.

ILLUSTRATION: CANDICE MCCOWN

In the Middle Are the Horsemen Tik Maynard // Trafalgar Square Books “This story is about learning, writing, running, getting hired, and getting fired (a few times). It is about other things, too,” says author Tik Maynard, a writer, trainer, and Canadian eventer who also is the husband of U.S. eventer Sinead Halpin. “Most of all, however, this is a story about horses.”

The book begins in 2008, when then 26-year-old Maynard was at a painful crossroads in his life, and it follows him on his deepening commitment to understand horses and their language—and to become not just a rider and trainer, but a true horseman.

Equine Lameness for the Layman G. Robert Grisel, DVM // Trafalgar Square Books This is a comprehensive, educational resource for anyone who wants to understand lameness—the most common cause of poor performance in the equine athlete. This unique guide offers hundreds of illustrations, dozens of charts, and numerous QR codes that link to video case studies. Taken together, they teach the layman to interpret lameness better and come away with a detailed, systematic, and comprehensive method for a happier, healthier equine partner.

The Sporting Horse: In Pursuit of Equine Excellence Nicola Jane Swinney and Bob Langrish // White Lion Publishing Gorgeous photography and thoughtful writing join forces in this beautiful hardcover that will be at home in any living room or well-appointed tack room. Swinney examines four key sporting characteristics—athleticism, speed, agility, and endurance—and how centuries of

job we ask of them, then they are similar enough to have a psychology and intelligence that mirror ours. It’s time to give them some credit for having an inner life, and past time to study it.”

Pulse Felix Francis // G. P. Putnam’s Sons In the grand tradition of his father, Dick Francis, Felix Francis presents a heart-pounding mystery set in the world of horseracing. When a well-dressed man is found unconscious at England’s Cheltenham Racecourse and then dies, one doctor suspects not misadventure, but murder. The tale unwinds in the Francis family’s signature style, as fast-paced and thrilling as a steeplechase.

Sport Horse Soundness and Performance Dr. Cecilia Lönnell // Trafalgar Square Books This book collects training advice for dressage, show jumping, and event horses from champion riders, equine scientists, and veterinarians. Its focus is on how rider and trainer can make it easier for horses to reach optimal performance. Lönnell, a veterinarian herself, covers a vast range of topics, including strength and conditioning; how genetics, conformation, and management can interact to cause injury; and guidelines for nurturing a happy, healthy equine athlete. The point isn’t the “occasional test” of competition whose ribbons reward a job well done; it is, as the legendary George Morris says in the foreword, “the daily work, the dressage, the beautiful care.”

Horses Speak of God: How Horses Can Teach Us to Listen and Be Transformed Laurie M. Brock // Paraclete Press In this slender, meditative volume, Episcopal priest and saddle seat equestrian Laurie Brock considers how horses and their ways of knowing can help humans find the divine—and perhaps also themselves. Brock’s writing is both honest and humorous and speaks particularly to those who find their church in the time they spend with horses, in barns, and in their emotional engagements with their pastimes.

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ELEMENTS Stay stylish (and toasty) in the elements with Ariat’s wind-resistant and waterproof outer layers

True Protection The Veracity H20 jacket combines sophisticated lines with tough-as-nails practicality. It features waterresistant fabric, plus waterproof seam sealing and zipper construction, help keep you dry without compromising your comfort. Features like performance stretch and saddle vents keep you moving comfortably, both in the saddle and going about your daily routine. The stylish cut is flattering and functional, too. The two sets of pockets and detachable hood come in handy, too. $239.95

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARIAT

It’s a classic wintertime conundrum for equestrians: how to layer for warmth without being so covered up in clothing that you can’t move. Ariat’s sleek pieces provide an attractive solution. Gear up for colder days with these five easy pieces designed and tested with equestrian life in mind.

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ARIAT

Brisk Weather … calls for the Ariat Brisk jacket! The shell body puts a new slant on quilting with an eye-catching chevron pattern that complements the softshell yoke and outer sleeve. The jacket also has zippered pockets—always a plus for corralling horse treats, car keys, and more.

Best of all, Cool Climate Insulation™ provides optimal lightweight comfort and warmth. Available in teal extreme or black. $99.95

Get Reflective The Sonar Half-Zip features reflective paneling that accents your style and helps keep you visible. Articulated sleeve design and Stretch Tek fleece give you freedom of movement, and the wind-resistant design keeps those icy breezes at bay. Also features a streamlined kangaroo pocket. $99.95

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Bright Ideals

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ARIAT

Come for the style, stay for the comfort: the Ideal down vest and jacket don’t skimp on color or warmth. They’re available in five colors to brighten up a wintry day, and the premium down insulation provides generous heat in a featherlight weight. These pieces feature double-stitch construction throughout and a standing collar.

The jacket also features zip pockets.

Jacket $99.95 Vest $79.95

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Brazenly High Performance The Braze Down Performance jacket marries classic down warmth with performance stretch so you can stay on top of your winter game without losing heat.

Down is rightly famous for providing exceptional warmth with minimal bulk, and that’s part of this jacket’s charm.

Also alluring: the welded construction, double-stacked pockets, and cozy fleece storm cuffs that keep the wind out. $199.95

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FOR THE RECORD

Hearing Committee Rulings and Administrative Penalties OFFICIAL NOTICES Contributed by the Regulation Department unless otherwise indicated. The following official notices are only intended to give penalty information for a given case and not to disclose the factual basis for each violation or penalty. The Hearing Committee decides each case based on the evidence presented at the hearing and takes into account many factors that may raise or lower a given penalty. For example, the Hearing Committee takes into account such things as whether the violation was intentional or unintentional, the nature of the violation, the credibility of witnesses, penalties in similar cases, past violations of Federation rules by a respondent, and many other mitigating factors.

US Equestrian members can access and search the United States Equestrian Federation Suspension List online at USequestrian.org. Hover over the Compete tab on the homepage. In the menu that appears, click Suspension List under Rules & Regulations.

H E A R I N G CO M M I T T E E RULINGS Below are the official rulings reached by the Hearing Committee following hearings held in these matters and/or plea agreements made.

This is official notice of actions taken by the United States Equestrian Federation, Inc., Hearing Committee on August 10, 2018.

The Committee Members present received and accepted a plea agreement tendered pursuant to Chapter 6, GR617, in connection with the James River Hunt Horse Show held May 11-13, 2018, wherein BROOKE BROWN, of Oxford, Pa., violated Chapter 7, GR702.1d, of this Federation, in that she behaved in a disrespectful manner towards a Competition Official when asked to exit the arena.

Fo r t h i s v i o l a t i o n o f Federation Rules, it was determined that BROOKE BROWN be censured pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1a.

This is official notice of actions taken by the United States Equestrian Federation, Inc., Hearing Committee on August 21, 2018.

EVAN COLUCCIO, o f M a rs h a l l , Va . , a n d E M C I N T E R N AT I O N A L , o f Middleburg, Va., violated Chapter 7, GR 702.1a, and G R 7 0 2 .1 d , C h a p t e r 1 1 , GR1101.3, and HU103 of this Federation, in connection with the Upperville 1

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Colt & Horse Show held on June 6-12, 2016, in that EVAN COLUCCIO and EMC INTERNATIONAL knowingly changed the identity of the horse EPIC LIFE in order to improperly compete at the pre-green 1 level, and then improperly sold the horse to a third party as a pre-green1 prospect.

The Hearing Committee noted that Mr. Coluccio and EMC International were given proper notice of the hearing yet did not participate and did not submit anything to challenge the allegations in the Protest. In determining the proper penalty for the violations, the evidence in this case demonstrated that Mr. Coluccio co m p e t e d t h e h o rs e i n pre-green classes in 2016 when he knew or should have known the horse was no longer eligible. In order to improperly position the horse as being pre-green eligible to prospective buyers, Mr. Coluccio changed the name and registration of the horse in June 2016.

M r. Co l u c c i o t h e n s o l d the improperly positioned horse to an unsuspecting buyer in 2017 who subsequently competed the horse in the green hunters for which it was not eligible.

Accordingly, the Hearing Committee unanimously ruled that the following penalties are appropriate for the violations.

For these violations of the rules, the Hearing Committee members present directed that pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1b and GR703.1f, EVAN COLUCCIO

and EMC INTERNATIONAL, each be found not in good standing, suspended from membership, and forbidden from the privilege of taking any part whatsoever in any Licensed Competition for six months, and are excluded from all competition grounds during Licensed C o m p e t i t i o n s fo r t h a t period: (1) as an exhibitor, participant, or spectator; (2) from participating in all Federation affairs and activities; (3) from holding or exercising office in the Federation or in any Licensed Competition; and (4) from attending, observing, or participating in any event, forum, meeting, program, clinic, task force, or committee of the Federation, sponsored by or conducted by the Federation, or held in connection with the Federation and any of its activities.

The six-month suspension shall commence on January 1, 2019, and terminate at midnight on June 30, 2019. Any horse or horses, completely or in part owned, leased, or of any partnership, corporation, or stable of EVAN COLUCCIO and/ or EMC INTERNATIONAL, or shown in the name of either or for the reputation of either (whether such interest was held at the time of the alleged violation or acquired thereafter), shall also be suspended pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1c, for the same time period.

The Hearing Committee further directed that EVAN COLUCCIO and EMC INTERNATIONAL be collectively fined $6,000 pursuant to

For the 2017 Competition Year, HU103 changed the nomenclature from “pre-green” to “green hunter.”

Support your sport.

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Plus, a portion of every eligible net purchase made with the US Equestrian Federation Visa SignatureÂŽ Card helps fund US Equestrian Team development and protect horse welfare.

Earn a $50 Statement Credit When you spend $200 in the first 90 days1

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Photo credit: Taylor Pence

Learn more at usbank.com/USEFCard There are two different US Equestrian Federation Visa cards: the US Equestrian Federation Signature Visa card and the US Equestrian Federation Select Rewards Visa card. You will first be considered for the Signature card. If you do not qualify for the Signature card, you will be considered for the Select Rewards card. These cards have different terms as set forth at usbank.com/USEFTerms. The Select Rewards card may not offer the same Signature benefits.

We may change APRs, fees and other Account terms in the future based on your experience with U.S. Bank National Association and its affiliates as provided under the Cardmember Agreement and applicable law.

Account must be open and in good standing to earn and redeem rewards and benefits. You may not redeem Points, and you will immediately lose all of your Points, if your Account is closed to future transactions (including, but not limited to, Program misuse, failure to pay, bankruptcy, or death). Points will expire five years from the end of the calendar quarter in which they were earned.

Please refer to the Rewards Program Rules you receive when you become a cardmember for additional information.

1. Subject to credit approval. Please wait 6-8 weeks for account to be credited after qualifying purchase is made. 2. Net purchases are purchases minus credits and returns. 3. Cash back is in the form of a statement credit.

The creditor and issuer of the Visa Card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Š 2018 U.S. Bank

USEF SAFE SPORT TRAINING REQUIREMENT Starting January 1, 2019, if you are a USEF Competing Member 18 years of age or older you are required to complete the core Safe Sport Training within 30 days of activating your membership.

If you do not complete the training, you are ineligible to participate in all USEF activities including competitions.

TAKE the SAFE SPORT TRAINING at USEF.org by logging into your member dashboard.

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FOR THE RECORD Chapter 7, GR703.1j.

ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES This is official notice of the imposition of Administrative Penalties pursuant to Chapter 4, GR412, and/or Chapter 6, GR616, offered by the Federation and accepted by the following parties, and approved by the Hearing Committee in lieu of hearings.

KARL BEYER of Ocala, Fla., violated Chapter 7, GR702.1d and GR702.1f, and Chapter 8, GR839.4a, GR839.4b, and GR839.4m, of this Federation, in connection with the Tryon Spring 4 Horse Show held May 23-27, 2018, in that he was witnessed using aggressive training methods towards a horse, including excessive use of his whip.

For these violations of Federation Rules, it was determined that pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1b and GR703.1f, KARL BEYER be found not in good s t a n d i n g , s u s p e n d e d f ro m membership, and forbidden from the privilege of taking any part whatsoever in any Licensed Competition for four months, and is excluded from all competition grounds during Licensed Competitions for that period: (1) as an exhibitor, participant, or spectator; (2) from participating in all Federation affairs and activities; (3) from holding or exercising office in the Federation or in any Licensed Competition; and (4) from attending, observing, or participating in any event, forum, meeting, program, clinic, task force, or committee of the Federation, sponsored by or conducted by the Federation, or held in connection with the Federation and any of its activities. The four-month suspension shall commence on April 1, 2019, and terminate at midnight on July 31, 2019. Any horse or horses, completely or in part owned, leased, or of any partnership, corporation, or stable of his, or shown in his name or for his reputation (whether such interest was held at the time of the alleged violation or acquired thereafter), shall also be suspended pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1c, for the same time period.

It was further directed that KARL BEYER be fined $4,000 pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1j.

WILLIAM DENCKER, KPCN, LTD., and PATRICIA DENCKER, all of Newburgh, N.Y., violated Chapter 12, GR1210.5 and GR1210.8, of this Federation, in that during the 2016 and 2017 competition years, as Competition Licensee and Management, KPCN, Ltd., and William Dencker, as well as Patricia Dencker, as Competition Secretary, failed to report the correct horse counts

in the Post Competition Report Forms. Specifically, higher horse counts were reported in order to maintain ratings and priority date status.

For this violation, it was determined that WILLIAM DENCKER, KPCN, LTD., and PATRICIA DENCKER each be censured pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1a.

Furthermore, it was determined that WILLIAM DENCKER, KPCN, LTD., and PATRICIA DENCKER shall each be subject to a three-year period of probation. During that threeyear probation period, they all must substantially comply with their obligations as Competition Management, Licensee, and/or Secretary, including but not limited to accurately reporting the horse entry numbers on every Post Competition Report.

STACIA MADDEN of Colts Neck, N.J., violated Chapter 4, GR410, of this Federation, in connection with WEF 5 Horse Show held on February 6-11, 2018, in that she, as trainer, exhibited the horse CANTERBURY after it had been administered and/ or contained in its body flunixin and phenylbutazone.

For this violation, it was determined that STACIA MADDEN be censured pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1a, and fined $1,000 pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1j. It was further directed that for this violation of the rules, all trophies, prizes, ribbons, and monies, if any, won by CANTERBURY at said competition must be redistributed pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1g.

METTE ROSENCRANTZ of Pacific Palisades, Calif., violated Chapter 4, GR410-411, of this Federation, in connection with The Dressage Affair Horse Show held on March 22-25, 2018, in that, she, as trainer, exhibited the horse MARRON after it had been administered acepromazine and 2-(1-hydroxyethyl) promazine sulfoxide.

For this violation, it was d e t e r m i n e d t h a t p u rs u a n t to Chapter 7, GR703.1b and G R 703 .1 f, M E T T E R O S E N CRANTZ be found not in good s t a n d i n g , s u s p e n d e d f ro m membership, and forbidden from the privilege of taking any part whatsoever in any Licensed Competition for two months and is excluded from all competition grounds during Licensed Competitions for that period: (1) as an exhibitor, participant, or spectator; (2) from participating in all Federation affairs and activities; (3) from holding or exercising office in the Federation or in any Licensed Competition; and USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 97

FOR THE RECORD (4) from attending, observing, or participating in any event, forum, meeting, program, clinic, task force, or committee of the Federation, sponsored by or conducted by the Federation, or held in connection with the Federation and any of its activities.

The two-month suspension shall commence on February 1, 2019, and terminate at midnight on March 31, 2019. Any horse or horses owned, leased, or of any partnership, corporation, or stable of hers, or shown in her name or for her reputation (whether such interest was held at the time of the alleged violation or acquired thereafter), shall also be suspended, pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1c, for the same period.

METTE ROSENCRANTZ was also fined $3,000 pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1j. It was further directed that for this violation of the rules, all trophies, prizes, ribbons, and monies, if any, won by MARRON at said competition must be redistributed pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1g.

SHARON STEWART-WELLS of Carlsbad, Calif., and SHOWPARK OF SAN DIEGO, INC, dba BLENHEIM EQUISPORTS of Carlsbad, Calif., violated Chapter 10, GR1034.4, of this Federation, in connection with The Las Vegas National Horse Show held November 14-19, 2017; the Showpark Spring Festival Horse Show held April 26-29, 2018; the Showpark Ranch & Coast Classic Horse Show held May 8-13, 2018; and the Blenheim June Classic I Horse Show held June 6-10, 2018, in that SHARON STEWART-WELLS officiated as Steward for four consecutive competitions run by the same governing body, Board of Directors, or Licensee.

For this violation, it was determined that SHARON STEWART-WELLS and SHOWPARK OF SAN DIEGO, INC, dba BLENHEIM EQUISPORTS each be censured pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1a, and each be fined $500 pursuant to Chapter 7, GR703.1j.

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