As a  horse enthusiast and marketer, I’ve been increasingly impressed by the Breeder’s Cup organization’s social media presence. Where most organizations (ahem, Alltech WEG!) start up blogs and Twitter accounts and post their information occassionally, the Breeder’s Cup is one of the few who actually interacts with their community. And that makes all the difference!

Thanks to their social media savvy, there are all kinds of ways you can get involved with the Breeder’s Cup, whether you’ll be at Santa Anita or not.

Breeder’s Cup Tweets & Tweeters Cup

Not only does @BreedersCup actually follow people back on Twitter, they reply and carry on conversations … and are hosting a sweet Tweet Up (called the Tweeters Cup) at the races. Check out the info on this:

The Tweeters’ Cup will mark the first time a Tweet-Up will be held onsite during a Championship event. It will have its own exclusive area in Santa Anita’s Seabiscuit Court, which also includes designated frontside seating for ultimate live tweeting of the races. Ticket price includes a betting voucher, buffet, gifts and chances to win prizes like a trip for two to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs.

Highlights of the day include:

• 11:15am – Betting the Breeders’ Cup Handicapping session with Joe Drape (@joedrape) of the New York Times, Ed DeRosa (@EJXD2) of the Thoroughbred Times and Tom Quigley (@Quigleys_Corner) of Horseplayer Magazine
• Q&A with prominent jockeys
• Appearances by ESPN personalities and jockeys from Animal Planet’s critically acclaimed reality show “Jockeys”

Tweet-Up will include:

• Betting voucher
• 2009 Breeders’ Cup gift
• Buffet (including non-alcoholic beverages)
• Two will Win a Nikon Coolpix camera – Perfect for a TweetUp
• Best Tweeter on-site will Win a Trip for Two to the 2010 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs including airfare and hotel.

Date: Friday, November 06, 2009
Time: 11:00am to 5:00pm
Tickets: $25 Tweet Up only, $15 If you already have a Breeders’ Cup Ticket

And of course, if you like to put a little money on the ponies but won’t be at Santa Anita for race day, there are all kinds of sports book websites that are doing 2009 Breeders Cup betting.

Listen & Watch Online

From what I’ve read, it looks like you can watch the Breeders Cup live on their official website.

The Horse Racing Radio Network based in Lexington is providing live online audio streaming of the race itself as well as broadcasts leading up to it. You can listen to more than 90 stakes races free of charge on their website.

You can also view races from previous years, Breeders Cup Challenge races, and lots of other coverage on the BC World Championships YouTube channel.

Or, check out their Facebook fan page for new updates, photos, and videos.

Just think of the coverage and participation other equestrian events could get if they took a page out of the Breeder’s Cup social media playbook!

I first learned about this new website when it’s owner Cheryl emailed to see if I would be interested in taking her up on a free photo book offer and sharing some feedback. Never one to turn down free stuff – especially horse related – I was more than happy to give her site a try.

My Free Horse Photo Book

I had a blast creating a photo book of Ace and I. There were great background themes to choose from, I got to upload all my favorite pictures, and then I could customize the pages however I want. The book is 5×7″ and 20 pages! Here are a few of my favorite spreads.

You can have one big picture that fills up the entire page, you can have a big picture with a background, you can make a collage, and you can even add text to each page. You can crop, resize, and move the pictures wherever you want, and you can easily rearrange the pages.

The paper is sturdy with a nice light shine and the print quality is great. I’ve got my photo book on the end table next to the couch. I had  bunch of family in over the weekend, and at some point or another I saw every single person pick it up and look through the photos. They all thought it was great too.

How My Hoof Pics Works

MyHoofPics.com is a site where you create all kinds of different items with your own pictures. They can certainly be horse related, but you can also use it for any pictures you want. The different items you can create include:

• photo books (various sizes available)
• mugs
• t-shirts
• calendars
• prints and enlargements
• keychains
• puzzles (how awesome is that?)
• luggage tags
• mural tiles (these look way cool!)

It uses a browser based software (which means that you have to download it, but it runs in Internet Explorer) called Rocket Life for creating your photo gifts.

Step 1: choose product and theme

The first thing you do after the software loads up is select your product.

From the homescreen, you also view and select the background theme you’d like to use (you can change this later if you want).

Step 2: upload your pictures

On the next screen, you have the option of loading your pictures directly from a folder on your computer or from an online library. I  loaded mine from my computer files. You can select multiple photos at once and upload them all at the same time. And you can go back later in the process and add more, too.

Step 3: design your product

For the photo book, you have the option of letting the software do to the layout automatically, or you can design it manually. I went for the automatic layout, and then customized it from there.

Here you can do anything you want to customize your book. You can change the theme, rearrange pages, resize and crop photos, create collages, add text, and lots more. You can also preview the book you’ve created.

Step 4: choose final options and checkout

When you are happy with the book, you can choose your final options (like hardcover or softcover) and the quantity you’d like to order. From there, you just go through the step by step check out process and you’re done!

I could seriously play around in here all day.

Get Your Own Free Photo Book

Want to create a special horsey Christmas gift for a special someone – or create one for yourself? The free photo book offer is still running on MyHorsePics.com. You can get a free, softcover 20-page created and printed. You will have to pay for shipping, which starts at $4.99. You can’t beat that!

Click here to go create your personalized horse photo gift book. All you have to do is enter your name and email, and you’ll immediately be sent a code and link so that you can redeem and create your free book.

So, go give it a try now and come back and let me know what you think!

And then I learned a fantastic method for sensitizing Ace to my leg aids in reading articles by several respected dressage trainers. In one session of using this technique, I had a completely different horse.

Like everything else with training horses, getting a good forward is all about using pressure and release to teach, and rewarding your horse for giving the correct response. This was so simple, I wanted to kick myself for not coming up with it on my own.

Quick Review of Pressure and Release

Everything we teach a horse to do stems from us applying pressure to get a desired response. Pulling on a horse’s lead rope gets him to step forward or put his head down. Pushing him with your left leg gets him to move to the right. Squeezing with both legs sends him forward.

The idea is that he responds in the direction that releases the pressure. Sometimes that happens automatically, like when you pull on his halter and he steps forward. Sometimes it depends on us releasing the pressure.

And releasing the pressure is what teaches the horse that he did the right thing. You understand these basic concepts and you understand the fundamentals of teaching a horse to do just about anything.

3 Steps To Better Forward: Increase The Pressure

We want our horses to respond to the very lightest of aids, no matter what discipline we ride. Nobody wants to go around the ring kicking for all they’re worth to keep going. It’s not fun for you, and it’s definitely not fun for your horse. And if you kick your horse every time you want him to go forward, he’ll never learn to move off of an even lighter aid.

The key to getting your horse to respond to light leg aids is start with the softest pressure, and increase it until you get an energetic response. The second he responds, release the pressure.

Here are three steps to use when teaching your horse to go forward:

1. Close your legs. This is your ultimate goal in getting your horse to respond to this light leg aid. It’s not a squeeze, bump, or kick. It’s the slightest tightening of your leg muscles in order to bring them closer to his sides and wrap them around the barrel. If he doesn’t surge forward when you do this …
2. Add heel. This is a couple bumps on his sides with your heels, which adds more pressure than just closing your legs. If that still doesn’t get a response…
3. Use your whip or spurs. (Please don’t overdo it though: a tickle or a tap should be all you need to start!)
   

These steps are a progression. You want your horse to noticeably respond with energy. If closing your legs doesn’t do it, add heel, and if that still doesn’t do it, use your whip or spurs. And you only ask once or twice at each level before you move up. Be sure to give him a chance to respond, but don’t wait more than a few seconds before increasing.

Use this progression every single time you ask your horse for forward. He will learn to respond to you closing your legs, and you won’t need to use your heels or spurs anymore. However, if at any time he doesn’t respond, you always use this progression.

Use The Release To Teach

When you first begin this exercise, you want to release the pressure as soon as your horse responds. Don’t keep kicking or squeezing. Get a few good, energetic steps, and then take your legs off his sides. This release is what will teach him that he did the right thing.

As he learns to respond better and better, you can ask for more steps forward. If you keep after him to keep going and going at first, he won’t learn that he’s doing the right thing.

Exercises to Teach Your Horse Forward

Here are some exercises I used with Ace to practice the three steps to a light driving  leg aid. I use these regularly during warm-up to make sure that he’s always responsive. It never takes more than a few reminders!

Increase the tempo at a walk

This is where you will want to start. Ask your horse for a slower walk than what you want, and then use the progression of leg aids discussed above to ask him to pick up the pace for 8-10 steps. Just walking a little faster isn’t going to cut it. You want an energetic, obvious response. After he responds for a few steps, remove the forward pressure and ask him to slow down again. Repeat this exercise until he moves off energetically when you just slightly close your leg.

Also, if he gets so responsive that he breaks into a trot  instead of just walking faster, let him go  few steps and praise him! Even though it’s not what you were asking for, if you stop him immediately you are going to confuse him and he’ll think he did the wrong thing.

You can use this exercise at any gait to keep your horse fresh and responsive off your legs.

Walk/Halt Transitions

Once you are getting a nice increase in pace at a walk, try an actual transition. Ask your horse to stand at a halt, and then use the pressure progression to ask him to walk. If he does it when you close your leg, great! Remove the leg pressure and praise him. Once he does transition (energetically! I can’t stress that enough), immediately relax and remove the pressure.

To make the exercise more difficult, halt for longer periods of time between transitions.

Trot Transitions

The next step would be asking for transitions between the walk and trot. And when he gets really good at those, you can even try trot halt transitions.

Within just a few days of using the increasing pressure with these exercises, Ace turned into a forward, energetic horse. It now only takes the slightest closing of my legs to pick up the pace or get a transition. Teaching him to canter was a complete non-event, because he understood that me closing my legs meant go forward.

I have a completely different horse today than I did six months ago … and it’s all because I learned to be a better rider.

If you have trouble with forward with your horse, give this a try and come back and let me know how it goes. If you’ve worked for this before, please share any additional tips or exercises you have!

Well, you might just find yourself in the dirt either way. But that shouldn’t stop you from being prepared.

Ok, fine, I’ll admit it. This topic comes up at this opportune time not because the last few weeks in Ohio have been pretty cold, but because Ace dumped ME in the dirt last night.

Horse Behavior Changes With the Weather

I’ve never read this in a book anywhere, but I’ve been around horses long enough to know that the weather has a pretty significant effect on their behavior. I talked with plenty of other horse people who say the same thing.

Horses really are animals built for moderate temperatures. I can tell Ace is feeling his best right now with the temperatures in the 50s. When it gets too hot, they get pretty listless and lazy. I always liked riding my mom’s super-spooky mare in the summer when it was hot, because she wasn’t so much on edge and aware of her surroundings. Took a little more leg to keep her going, but I didn’t have to worry about her scooting out from under me every other second.

I don’t blame them for not liking the heat, and especially the humidity we get here in the Midwest. The air is hot and heavy and hard to breathe and they start to sweat just swatting at flies.

When it gets cold, however, they find those reserves of energy that have been in hibernation all summer. You get one cold day and all of a sudden they see every leaf that blows by and could cart you around the arena at breakneck speeds for hours.

It’s important to be aware that horses are generally more hot-headed during cold weather. It’s even more important to know YOUR horse and know he handles the shifts in temperature.

When it gets cold, mine actually starts acting like a thoroughbred. He’s constantly got his head up and  is on high alert, he spooks at every little thing (and he very rarely spooks during the hot days of summer), and all he wants to do is go. I know this, so I am prepared and careful about how I handle him on the ground and in the saddle.

How To Not Get Dumped In The Dirt – Or At Least Do Your Best To Avoid It

It’s cold, it’s windy, and there are alot more things to catch your horse’s attention – especially when he’s woken up from summer dormancy and his senses are dramatically heightened. Here are some tips to keep both of you safe when the weather first changes and you have to adjust to this new creature:

• please always wear a helmet when you ride
• if your horse is especially nutty, it’s probably a good idea to wear one when you work on the ground too
• you be aware of your surroundings too; not enough to get tense about something that might make him spook and then cause it, but enough to be prepared to handle it if something sets him off
• keep him out of your space – make it a common practice to give yourself a healthy bubble that he’s not allowed to enter so that his initial reaction isn’t to jump into your lap if something scares him
• give him time on a lunge or a nice long walk warm-up to settle down and start thinking about you instead of his surroundings
• if he’s not paying attention to you, make him think – do circles and serpentines and walk over poles or leg yield – anything but mindlessly walking around the rail
• try not to ride alone and keep a cell phone handy
• if you are going to be alone, make sure somebody knows where you are and how long you expect to be there
• most importantly – you stay calm and relaxed. If he feels that you are calm, he’ll settle down and relax too.

And despite doing all of this, you might still fall off like I did last night. I hopped on Ace bareback for a short relaxing ride with a friend. He was calm and paying attention and behaving very well. Then a cat sitting just outside the arena bolted.

Before I could even comprehend he was spooking, I was on my back on the ground (and so was my friend, whose horse spooked at Ace spooking and put her on her butt too). And Ace doesn’t usually spook at stuff like that. I saw it before he did and was aware it could happen … of course there was no way I was staying with the gigantic leap sideways out from under me without a saddle. But hey, I had my helmet on. And the worst I’ve got is a little bit of stiffness in my back.

In warmer weather, Ace isn’t on such high alert and wouldn’t have been bothered by the cat. After all, the neighbor dog constantly runs up to him barking and that doesn’t phase him. But I’ve discovered pretty quickly that he’s 10 times as spooky now that it’s cold than he was the last few months. So I’m always prepared for him to do something stupid. I’ll be doing my best to keep both of us from getting hurt and help us to have lots of fun this fall and winter. I hope you will too!

Any other tips for handling a hot-headed horse during cold weather? How have you noticed your horse’s behavior changing with the weather?

P.S. It helps if you wear plenty of layers when it’s cold out. Not only will you stay warmer – it’s extra layers of padding!

FEI-Level dressage riders Ann Guptill & Lou Denizard gather donations for second silent auction

The New England dressage community is again teaming up to support NARHA Horses for Heroes, a program that was created to provide equine-assisted activities and  therapies (EAAT) for wounded U.S. military personnel and veterans. In spite of the economic recession, the dressage and equestrian community has been generous again in 2009, with almost $7,500 in goods and services donated this year to be auctioned off during the Northeast Regional Adult Amateur Dressage Championships (NRADC) at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Gales Ferry, Connecticut on October 10 & 11, 2009.

Ann Guptill, owner of Fox Ledge Farm, and Lou Denizard, owner of Delante Equestrian Center, have asked their colleagues, friends, peers, and students to come together to support Horses for Heroes by donating lessons, training, show entry fees, and other items and services to be sold with  all proceeds going to NARHA. Guptill and Denizard’s requests were met with enthusiastic support, with many prominent riders, trainers, and farms in the area stepped forward and pledged their support.

Guptill said, “I was intrigued by Horses for Heroes when I first read about it last year. The physical and emotional help that horses can give to any injured or disabled person is amazing. Horses give so much of themselves to their riders, it is very fitting that they give to our service personnel who have given their all to serve our country.”

Denizard “I believe in NARHA’s Horses for Heroes because of the good that horses have in them for healing the mind and soul. These soldiers have risked their lives for our country, and many have been severely injured in the process and will have lifelong disabilities. Any and all ways we can give back to support them is very important.”

Last year, with the help of Denizard, the NRADC Silent Auction raised more than  $3,000 for NARHA Horses for Heroes. Denizard is enthusiastic about the program, saying  “I firmly believe in this program because of the good that horses have in them for healing the mind and soul. These soldiers have risked their lives for our country and it is important for all of us to give back to support them.”

Although the recession has certainly impacted many horse show venues and vendors, the NRADC committee hopes that the dressage community will feel good about spending money at the Silent Auction for NARHA Horses for Heroes. In addition to getting good deals on many goods and services, winning bidders often get an opportunity to train with someone who was previously inaccessible to them. Courtney King-Dye, who represented the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics, has supported this effort by donating lessons to the auction. Jayne Marino of Mistover Farms donated $250 in services for the second year in a row, and Ten Broeck Farm’s Phil Silva, who runs a successful equine transportation service, has generously donated transportation from New England to Florida for one horse – a service valued at $1500.

Numerous research studies have shown that individuals who participate in equine-assisted therapies can experience physical, emotional, and mental rewards. Because horseback riding rhythmically moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to a human gait, riders with physical disabilities often show improvement in flexibility, balance and muscle strength.  For individuals with mental or emotional disabilities, the unique relationship formed with the horse can lead to increased confidence, patience and self-esteem. The sense of independence found on horseback benefits all that ride. In addition to the therapeutic benefits, horseback riding also provides recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the outdoors.

Horses for Heroes was developed specifically to aid wounded military personnel and veterans. The Horses for Heroes Task Force works directly with the U.S. Veterans’ Administration to shape the program to meet the specific needs of soldiers. “Appreciating the power of the horse to change lives is our goal,” said NARHA Past President Dr. Paul Spiers, “and NARHA wants to provide positive change for these very special lives. Our service personnel have fought to preserve our freedom, and, for many, at a very dear cost. We must be certain that if our wounded service personnel and veterans need and want this kind of help, they will get the best NARHA has to offer.”

The Task Force has been developing the program and the pilot methods to be used for educating member instructors and centers interested in starting a program. Currently, Windrush Farm in Boxford, Massachusetts, offers this program in New England. Many NARHA centers have been offering these services to veterans for years, but NARHA’s goal is to expand the program for military personnel, making  the benefits available to a broader scope of individuals.

About NARHA

NARHA was formed in 1969 to promote EAAT for individuals with and without special needs. Nearly 800 NARHA member centers partner equines with NARHA Certified Instructors and various professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, psychiatrists and social workers to physically improve, emotionally empower and socially enhance the lives of individuals with and without special needs.

More than 40,000 children and adults find a sense of independence through involvement with horses at NARHA centers nationwide. These member centers range from small, one-person programs to large operations with several certified instructors and licensed therapists. In addition to therapeutic riding, a center may offer any number of equine assisted activities and therapies including hippotherapy, equine facilitated mental health, carriage driving, interactive vaulting, trail riding, competition, ground work or stable management. Through a wide variety of educational resources, the association helps individuals start and maintain successful equine assisted activity and therapy programs. There are more than 31,000 volunteers, 3,000 instructors, 5,900 therapy horses and thousands of contributors from all over the world helping people at NARHA centers.

Thanks to Regarding Horses reader Doug for letting me know about the series tickets available for the 2010 World Equestrian Games English disciplines through Active Travel. If you are planning to attend WEG for jumping, dressage, or eventing, you can get tickets for all the events in each discipline as well as your hotel as a package deal. Here’s the information provided by Active Travel:

In addition to the general admission tickets that are on sale for WEG 2010 via Ticketmaster,  Active Travel, Inc., which specializes in offering the best riding trips worldwide, is proud to be featuring discipline series ticket and accommodation packages to WEG in 2010.

“We have worked closely with Alltech and Short’s  Sports to develop special packages for this event featuring a limited supply of A level premier seating tickets including hotel accommodations” said Stacey Adams, President.  “We are excited to be offering these packages as folks won’t have to purchase tickets one at at a time from Ticketmaster and we have already guaranteed the hotel rooms so we’ve tried to make it a true one stop shop” she said.

The company is currently offering complete discipline series tickets to Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventing along with other disciplines on a requested basis.  All packages include daily tickets to each day of competition in the requested discipline, A level preferred seating, hotel accommodation, daily breakfast, daily transportation to the Kentucky Horse Park (with one exception) and all taxes.

Click here to review  package details.

Reservations can be made online at www.activeridingtrips.com or by phone at 800.973.3221.

It will be interesting to see how quickly the tickets go, particularly in this economy. I’m guessing the more popular and well-known events, like show jumping, reining, and dressage will go the fastest. These are also the most expensive events to attend.

Ticket prices start at $25 for a session of Para Dressage and go as high as $140 for the Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle. If you are planning to attend WEG and are thinking of buying event tickets, you can see the entire competition schedule with ticket prices here.

If you can’t get tickets for the event you want, or aren’t sure if you are attending, there’s going to be plenty to draw you to the Kentucky Horse Park during this international event. There will be demonstrations and exhibitions, a huge tradeshow, and all kinds of equestrian displays to visit. Clinicians, organizations, and entertainers will be educating and celebrating the horse in the Equine Village. General admission to the World Equestrian Games will include all of this; the tickets on sale tomorrow are only for entry to watch the competition itself. Even with just a general admission ticket, you will be hard pressed to see everything there is to see!

General Admission tickets will be available in the spring. If you do purchase a reserved seat at a competition event, however, your admission to the park for that day is included in that ticket price.

Purchasing World Equestrian Games Competition Tickets

Ticket sales will be facilitated by Ticketmaster, and sold through the official World Equestrian Games website and Ticket Master. Tickets will also be available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets. Anyone with special needs, including ADA seating, may call the Ticketmaster hotline at 1-800-745-3000.

Tickets for reserved seating will be available to each session of competition of the eight world championships of equestrian sport. Prices range from $25 to $150, providing a range of options for every spectator.

All tickets will be sold on-online, through the Ticketmaster hotline, or at any Ticketmaster outlet. No tickets will be sold in person or via phone at the World Games 2010 Foundation office or the Kentucky Horse Park.

Listen In As The 2010 Radio Show Discusses the Event and Ticket Sales

This episode is all about the tickets for the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games that go on sale this Friday (9-25-2009) at 12:00 Noon. We are on location at the Kentucky Horse Park with John Nicholson, Executive Director of the KYHP, joining us as co-host. Our special guests include Amy Walker, Public Relations Manager for WEG, and William Moroney, President of the United States Hunter Jumper Association. Listen in…

2010 Radio Show Episode 57 – Tickets on Sale This Week!

• Thank you to our special co-host John Nicholson, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park, for allowing us to set up in his office.
• Also thank you to our guests; William Moroney, President of the USHJA, and Amy Walker, Public Relations Manager for the World Equestrian Games Foundation.
• To learn more about the 2010 WEG tickets and housing go to www.alltechfeigames.com. You can find the complete 2010 WEG Event Schedule here.
• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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2010 Radio Show Episode 56 – Show Jumping, Reining & a Spotlight Eventer Update:

• Thank you to Dr. Andy Clark for inviting us to record from the $50,000 CSI-W Lexington Grand Prix to conclude the Hagyard Challenge Series.
• It was great to speak with past World Equestrian Games competitors Mclain Ward and Margie Engle.
• We appreciate Dan Wahl, Executive Director of the National Reining Horse Association, and Reiner Pete Kyle for joining us for a few minutes.
• A very tired Spotlight Eventer Jessica Phoenix spent a few minutes telling us about her trip to England. See Jessica’s bio and her website.
• The Meydan Group, a racetrack development group in Dubai with ties to the Dubai royal family, will be the presenting sponsor of the Endurance Competition. The Dubai Royal Family has a rich history intertwined with horses. Dubai’s ruler, and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is a keen endurance rider, and will head a team at next year’s games. Read more…
• The National Reining Horse Association will also be a sponsor of the Alltech World Equestrian Games next year, and will be bringing a very exciting new component to the reining competition. After the final round of the reining in next year’s Games, the NRHA will sponsor a Reining Freestyle Exhibition Competition.
• Tickets officially go on sale next Friday, 25th September, if you’re a member of the American Quarter Horse Association, another sponsor of the World Games, you’re going to have two days to get a jump on the rest of us. Starting at noon on Monday September 21st, and ending at midnight on Wednesday, AQHA members will be able to order up to six tickets per session, online only.
• Alltech have picked ten Kentuckians to spread the word about next year’s Games, and everything related to them. Ten Ambassadors, each representing one of the State’s congressional districts have been chosen by Alltech.
• Visit the World 2010 WEg Officiqal Blog at 2010alltechweg.blogspot.com.
• Finnish Dressage rider Kyra Kyrklund has retired her top horse Max, after finishing 7th in the recent European Championships at Windsor. Read more…
• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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2010 Radio Show Episode 55 – WEG Updates & Spotlight Para-Equestrian Report:

• Thank you to our spotlight rider Susan Treabess for the update on her quest to qualify for 2010 World Equestrian Games. Read more about Susan…
• Thank you also to Chrissy Joy for filling us in and giving us the WEG update.
• In an ongoing effort to clean up equestrian sport, Lord Stevens, the former Chief of the Metropolitan Police in London, England, announced recommendations last week to combat doping, and ensure the integrity of it’s Governing Body. Read more…
• The FEI also announced this week that, unless she appeals, German Dressage rider Isabell Werth, will be suspended from all competitions for six months. The punishment stems from a doping incident in which Werth’s horse Whisper, tested positive for a banned substance, at the Wiesbaden CDI in Germany at the end of May. Read more…
• The Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament takes place this Saturday, September 12th, one of the richest team show jumping events in the world. Read more…
• The Rolex Three Day Event will NOT clash with Badminton, as feared earlier this year. The organizers of both events have been able to reach an agreement on dates from next year until 2016. Read more…
• A while ago now, we reported that Kentucky was emulating Northern California’s Napa Valley Wine Country in it’s own style, and creating the Bourbon Trail. Read more…
• We had an exciting Burghley Weekend, and Oli Townend has captured two parts of the Rolex Grand Slam, so no doubt he’ll be over here in Lexington next spring trying to win the third leg and take home the $350,000. bonus to anyone who can win all three in a row.
• We’ll be covering the Driving Test Event that takes place at the beginning of October and talking to our spotlight athlete Mike Mclennan, and the Endurance Test Event, ten days later, on the 14th October. Read more…
• Alltech, the title sponsor of the World Equestrian Games next year, have yet one more thing to boast about. Alltech were recently named one of the top green companies in the world by Inc magazine, the first animal health company to make the list. Read more…
• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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Before I jump right in, let me apologize for my extended blogging absence. I’ve been in the process of moving into my first house, on top of a bunch of other new things in my fall schedule, so it’s been a little nuts. I’m starting to settle back into a routine, so blogging needs to move back up in my priority list!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming …

Learning Through Blogging

Through nearly two years of running Regarding Horses, I have learned in leaps and bounds about the equestrian industry, horse care, and various disciplines. In researching topics and events to write about, I’ve gleaned a whole lot of new knowledge. And it’s a blast!

One of the topics that I’ve been mulling over in my mind lately are the differences between different trainers and schools of thought. I’ve learned a lot about the Parelli natural horsemanship system in past years, and it’s made me curious about other popular trainers like Monty Roberts and John Lyons. I’m planning to take some time to go through and research the big names in training so that I can develop intelligent,  informed opinions that I can back up when talking with people. In particular, I think of the more marginal horse people who ask me about these types of trainers because they are such well-known names. Whether or not I agree with their whole systems, it’s useful knowledge both as I train my horse and as I talk with other people.

Weigh In On Your Favorite School Of Thought

A few of the highly-publicized and popular names that immediately come to my mind are

• Parelli
• Julie Goodnight
• Monty Roberts
• Linda Tellington-Jones
• Jane Savoie
• John Lyons

Can you think of others that are well-known within the active horse industry as well as the more marginal horse enthusiasts?

To make this an even more informative series, I need your help! If you have any experience with these or other well-known trainers’ systems, please contact me and share a little bit of your story. Tell me about you and your horses background, why you use this particular system or trainer, and how it has benefited you and your horse. I can research all day but not glean the kind of information those of you who have experienced it can share. I, and I’m sure many of my readers, would love it if you would teach us about your favorite trainer! I will be using your stories in  my posts, so if you’d like to remain anonymous just let me know.

Please use my contact form to send me an email with your story! Or if you subscribe by email, just hit reply and start typing.