If your horse travels, competes, trains, is confined or experiences other potentially stressful situations, sign up for a FREE gastroscopy ($400 savings). A diagnostic gastroscopy is the only definitive way to determine if a horse has ulcers. Veterinarians from Rood & Riddle and Merial will evaluate each horse endoscopically and provide customized feedback for treatment or the prevention of gastrointestinal ulceration.

Everyone is invited to attend the event and view gastroscopies throughout the day, questions and discussions are encouraged. A horse is not necessary for your attendance.

To schedule your horse for the event please contact Whitney Mathes at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital by Monday September 17^th at Noon at 859-233-0371 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .    

**Attendees of the seminar will be able to purchase Gastrogard/ Ulcergard at the discounted price of $32/tube. Participants will be eligible for Merial® rebates ($5/tube up to 28 tubes).

**Should your horse have a positive diagnosis a medication purchase is required for participating in the event. The amount of medication to be purchased will be based on the endoscopic findings.

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#About Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital www.roodandriddle.com

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is a full-service equine hospital established in 1986 as a referral center for horses requiring specialized medical and surgical care. Today Rood & Riddle is known and respected throughout the world for innovative and highly skilled treatment of horses. The hospital facility offers a full range of services including surgery, internal medicine, advanced diagnostic imaging, a focused Podiatry Center and specialized Reproductive Center.  The practice also provides ambulatory services in Lexington, KY and New York for emergencies, preventative care, general reproduction, radiography, medical care and treatment of your horse at your farm or stable. Rood and Riddle’s reputation stems from an unwavering commitment to quality, both in the care of horses and in the relationships with clients and community.

Contact: Alex L. Riddle                                                                                                  
(859) 280-3316
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 9 am, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association will be holding their 24th annual International Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park, Covered Arena. 

The RMHA’s 24th International Horse Show will run until September 15th and culminate with Grand Championship classes in the Saturday evening performance.  

Admission to this event will be included with park admission.  Several local vendors will be set up around the show ring concourse daily.  Events for the whole family are planned throughout the week. 

Please join us anytime during the week of September 11-15th for family fun and entertainment at the Kentucky Horse Park to celebrate the Rocky Mountain Horse Association’s International Horse Show.  More information available on RMHA website: www.rmhorse.com.

In 1986, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was founded as a non-profit organization in Kentucky.  The Association is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and breeding of the Rocky Mountain Horse.  Even though the Rocky Mountain Horse as a recognized breed is relatively new, the horses go back more than 70 years to a small farm owned by Sam Tuttle, in Estill County Kentucky.  Mr. Tuttle developed these horses which had a natural single foot (4-beat gait) for riding at the Natural Bridge State Park.  The name “Rocky Mountain Horse” is derived from the fact that Mr. Tuttle’s line of horse is descendant from a stallion originally from the Rocky Mountains.  This stallion bred to Kentucky mares and was the beginnings of the Rocky Mountain Horse.  There are over 19,000 registered Rocky Mountain Horses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia, and are also found in several countries throughout Europe.  

***This brief history of the Rocky Mountain Horse® is an excerpt from the book “Rocky Mountain Horses”,
courtesy of the author, Bonnie Hodge.  For more information contact Bonnie at www.wildfireenterprises.iceryder.net.

Melissa Eller
Administrative Assistant, Rocky Mountain Horse Association
859-243-0260
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The second edition of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, KY, is set for October 30 through November 4, 2012. The show will once again be held at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
In addition to world-class show jumping and the country's best and most competitive hunter divisions, the show will also feature one of the nation's longest running and most coveted national championships, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) Maclay National Championship.

Over the years the ASPCA Maclay Finals have been termed the "proving ground of champions" and the ultimate test for America's young riders. And in the case of this classic test of horsemanship skills, that's certainly more fact than hype.
 
During last year's ASPCA Maclay Finals, it was 17-year-old Sarah Milliren of Sapulpa, Okla., who took top honors. "It's so exciting, I'm so happy," beamed Milliren after leading the victory gallop. "For the second round I had moved down, so I knew I had to give it my all. I feel so honored to win this prestigious national championship."
 
"It's the culmination of a long year of competition, it's the final national championship, and with all of the history behind it, it's just a great event to be a part of," said top trainer Missy Clark, who, during the course of her stellar career as one of the nation's very best teachers, has sent nine different ASPCA Maclay National Champions to the ring. "If you look back at the names on the Maclay trophy, you see so many names of riders that have gone on to do great things in their careers. If you can get through the Maclay Finals, you can go on and do anything. If you win that class, you've got the goods; you've got the ingredients to do great things."
 
"Since its beginning in 1933, the ASPCA Maclay has been the most prestigious and coveted award for junior riders, and the ultimate test of horsemanship and partnership between horse and rider," said Valerie Angeli, senior director of equine and special projects for the ASPCA. "To ride in the Maclay is a huge accomplishment on its own, but-to win a Maclay class is truly exceptional, and to win or place in the championship finals elevates a young rider to celebrity rider status."
 
The ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Trophy contains the names of some of America's great riders. Previous winners include United States Equestrian Team superstar William Steinkraus in 1941 and his teammate and long time Chef D'Equipe of the U.S. team, Frank Chapot in 1948. World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Conrad Homfeld won the championship in 1967 and fellow Olympians Leslie Burr Howard (1972), Peter Wylde (1982) and Katharine Burdsall (1975) all got their start with a victory in the ASPCA Maclay Finals. The ASPCA's own Equine Welfare Ambassador, Brianne Goutal took home the coveted title during the 2005 show season, and Hayley Barnhill, also an ASPCA Equine Welfare Ambassador, won the championship in 2010.


Probably, the most impressive name of all on the trophy is that of the legendary George Morris who led the victory gallop at Madison Square Garden in 1952. And this year, for the ASPCA Maclay National Championship, George Morris, along with California's legendary Hap Hansen will be the judges for this prestigious event. "It's an American heritage, a real tradition in our sport," Morris noted last year. "The purpose of this wonderful discipline of equitation is to encourage good horsemanship. Horsemanship is caring for your horse, whether you have a pony or an Olympic jumper."
 
"It is important to remember that in this competition, just like in any other, true champions are not only the best at what they do, their hearts are in the right place and they truly care," said Angeli. "The ASPCA Maclay is, and always has been about, not just mastering the finest skills in hunt seat equitation; it is about compassion, consideration and responsibility to the horses. Now more than ever we ask our ASPCA Maclay riders to put the welfare of their horses first and think about the many thousands of horses in this country who are not lucky enough to be properly loved and cared for," she noted. "After all, the ASPCA's history is about more than 145 years of protecting the horses who have served man so well throughout time."
 
And as Clark points out, the ASPCA Maclay Finals have always been an important stepping stone to future equestrian endeavors and success.
 
"It's a great developmental area for so many of our riders. If you use it as a tool as you move forward in your career, to perfect your riding, to learn about proper position, proper function, that enables you to go on and do so many other things," Clark went on to say. "I think it's an important event in our American system, and if you look back in history at some of the winners, and even the great riders that maybe didn't win, but competed well, you see that verified time and time again."
 
"The Alltech National Horse Show made an all-out effort to make sure that Maclay Sunday was an extraordinary day," said Mason Phelps, the President of the National Horse Show Association of America. "We were very happy with last year's event, but we're even more excited for 2012 as we make the small, but necessary changes to make Sunday even more exciting. Once again, we will be pulling out all of the stops to make sure this event is superb at every level."
 
Phelps also noted, "On Sunday at the Alltech National Horse Show, there is no charge at all for General Admission. So, with that in mind, we encourage everyone to come out the show. We hope, that in lieu of the free admission, that anyone visiting us on Sunday will take some time to stop by the ASPCA booth and find out about this great organization and make a contribution to their worthwhile efforts."
 
"Maclay Day" at the National has always been a pressure packed day of equestrian excellence.
 
"Maclay day is simply intense," Clark affirmed. "You've prepared harder, and in a more concentrated manner than you have for any other championship. Just like when you're preparing for the Super Bowl, you train harder, right?" she asked. "You're pretty much up all night in preparation, and then competition day is a full day of just intense concentration, with plenty of highs and some lows too. With the Maclay, there's really nothing like it. It's a year's worth of work all boiled down to one intense day of competition."
 
This year's highly competitive event, pitting America's top juniors in a head to head battle for horsemanship supremacy, takes place on the final Sunday of the Alltech National Horse Show on November 4th.
 
No matter the winner, that Sunday in November promises to be a very special day, as it has been every year since the inception in 1933.
 
"I have a friend who is in her 80's and has lived an amazingly adventurous and rich life, having traveled all around the world and done just about everything," Angeli said. "But when asked, she will tell you that one of her proudest accomplishments was riding in the Maclay at Madison Square Garden and competing against Jacqueline Bouvier (Kennedy) in the 1940's. The Maclay program is framed on her piano as you walk in the door and it states that "the purpose of the ASPCA Maclay competition is to reward young riders, through a serious of tests, for excellence in horsemanship and thoughtfulness to their mounts."
 
For information on the ASPCA Maclay and the Alltech National Horse Show, please visit the website at:  http://www.alltechnationalhorseshow.com/  
 
In addition to hosting the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals, the show will feature a complete schedule of 'AA'-rated hunter divisions, a big money Open Jumper division with a major Grand Prix, and as always, the signature event of the National Horse Show, the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals.
 
Founded in 1883 at the original Madison Square Garden, the National Horse Show is America's oldest indoor horse show, firmly established as a major fixture on the national and international sports and social event calendars. The National Horse Show Association's primary activity is the annual production of the National Horse Show and all ancillary events. Over the years, the National Horse Show has provided financial aid to many worthwhile charities.
 
For more information on the National Horse Show Association of America, Limited, please visit  www.nhs.org. 

Photos (top) Sarah Milliren, winner of the 2011 ASPCA Maclay Championship by Shawn McMillen, and (bottom) Mason Phelps, by Kenneth Kraus.

Looking for a bomb-proof trail horse who has done it all? Meet Sir Maybelline, a former show hunter, racehorse, and currently a solid trail horse who is sound and sweet as the day is long.

He acts much younger than his age, and the person who adopts him will be getting the equine equivalent of a fine Kentucky Bourbon: warm, smooth, pleasant, and aged to perfection.

Seriously, don't let his age (21) deter you. Sir Maybelline is a 16.1-hand Thoroughbred gelding who has a great personality, is still in the prime of his life, and has a lot to give!

For more information on Sir Maybelline or any of the other adoptable horses at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, contact them at 859-881-5849, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.KyEHC.org Please repost and help him find a forever home!

Horse Park regularly hosts Olympic-caliber athletes

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 13, 2012) – As the 2012 Olympic Games in London close, Gov. Beshear today recognized the Kentucky Horse Park as an elite international equestrian facility for consistently hosting world-class and Olympic-caliber athletes.   

The Horse Park is also a significant economic contributor to the Commonwealth, with an estimated economic impact of approximately $180 million each year.  

“The Kentucky Horse Park is the only place in our state—and one of the few places in the world—where visitors can see world-class equestrian competitions on a regular basis,” said Gov. Beshear.  “We are not only the Horse Capital of the World, but Kentucky is also one of the premier homes for high-level equestrian sports.  I encourage Kentuckians and visitors to attend one of the many top-rated shows held at the Kentucky Horse Park and witness elite competition firsthand.”

More than 115 athletes who participated in equestrian events in the 2012 Olympics have competed at the Kentucky Horse Park.  Seventeen of those athletes earned a medal in the London Olympics.  

Athletes frequently travel from Australia, France, Great Britain and many other countries to the Lexington facility to contend for top honors in equestrian sports such as dressage, jumping and eventing.  

The Horse Park also hosted the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, which marked the first time the elite competition was held outside of Europe.  That event placed Kentucky in the international spotlight and generated more than $200 million in economic impact, and also built on the park’s international reputation as a signature event site.  The new facilities added to the Horse Park for WEG continue to attract competitors and tourists to Kentucky from across the country and around the world.  
    
"We appreciate the continued support from the Governor and First Lady.  We are exceedingly proud of our facility and the competitions that bring in visitors and athletes from around the globe,” said John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park.  “The Kentucky Horse Park is clearly one of the leading equestrian competition facilities not just in North America, but anywhere in the world.  We expect the tremendous growth of the sport horse industry in Kentucky will accelerate in the years ahead."  

The Kentucky Horse Park is a 1,200 acre competition facility and tourist attraction recognized as the epicenter of equestrian life, sports and business.  Most notably, the park annually hosts the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.  The event is ranked at four stars, which is the highest level in international competition.    

The Horse Park hosts a number of other award-winning shows as well.  The Alltech National Horse Show won the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame’s Show of the year. They were also named the top U.S. show by the North American Riders Group. North American Junior and Young Rider Championships and the two weeks of Kentucky Spring Hunter Jumper were named among the top 25 events in North America.

This year, the facility will host 21 grand prix jumper classes as well as seven national or international hunter derbies, with more than $1 million offered in prize money.

The Park will host three upper-level dressage events in 2013, including the U.S. Dressage Finals.  

For more information on the Kentucky Horse Park and its world-class events, please visit http://kyhorsepark.com/.

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Photo above from Rolex Kentucky, by www.PixBySteve.com.

Lexington, KY - More than 500 of the very best ponies in the U.S. are in Lexington, Kentucky right now to compete at the 2012 US Pony Finals. Starting Tuesday they will be ridden into competition at the Kentucky Horse Park by youth riders from around the country.
 
Over the next six days riders will take aim at the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans in Small, Medium, and Large Regular Hunter and Green Hunter sections and at an overall Regular and Green Hunter championship.  Starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday pony jumpers will go after Team and Individual jumping championships. On Sunday, August 12th the week will end with the awarding of the Equisport Insurance/US Pony Medal Championship.
 
The full 2012 U.S. Pony Finals schedule is available here.
 
Though a National Pony Championship has been held in the U.S. since 1967 the popular and cherished Pony Medal has only been awarded since 1984. Since then the equitation competition that determines the medal winner has been a highlight of the week. Riders qualify by earning a blue ribbon or by earning 30 points in any U.S. Pony Medal Qualifying class. During the championship they will be judged head-to-head over a demanding course of fences.
 
2012 is the 11th year that the National Pony Jumper Championships are being held as part of the US Pony Finals. To qualify rider/pony combinations need to be one of their zone's top four. Zone 7 won last year's team championship and last year's individual winner Julia Curtis is back with her winning mount, The Waterboy.
 
The Hunter Pony competitions are held in three phases in which a pony's conformation, movement under saddle, and jumping ability are judged. The first Hunter Pony classes begin Tuesday in the Walnut Ring at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
USEF Network will post results and videos from the US Pony Finals daily at http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFPonyFinals/
 
Find out more about the Pony Finals at www.usef.org. 

Back by popular demand, the Horsemen of All Ages Sale, presented by Adequan, returns to Floral Hall Round Barn at The Red Mile Race Track.

This bachelor and bachelorette auction features a group of the most interesting single people in Lexington, willing to go on a date to benefit The Race For Education.

The Race For Education is a scholastic organization that provides career and college readiness programs for students in need of additional academic support, and college scholarships for young people with significant financial need.

Vote for our Kentucky Horse Park executive director, John Nicholson, in the Horsemen of All Ages Sale.  If he gets the most votes, our Kentucky Horse Park Foundation will win 2 UK Football Tickets and $1,000!   YOU could win a pair of tickets for the Meet and Greet sponsored by SKYBAR, dinner and Bachelor Auction on Friday, September 7, just for voting!

You can vote once a day from each of your email addresses.  Vote here daily through Sep 1.

For more information on the event, call The Race For Education at 859.252.8648 or visit them online at raceforeducation.org.

As a special treat for our guests this weekend, we have the Warm Beach Vaulters here to perform, Friday through Sunday, Jul 27-29 in our Horses of the World show. 

They are the third largest vaulting club in America and we guarantee that you will be impressed! 

Come and see them - it's included with park admission. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&;v=VzDdx1P84yk#at=154