BURBANK — In sunny California, the competition for a coveted spot on the U.S. and Canadian Pan American Games teams heated up during the Festival of the Horse CDI-W/Y/J, held March 31-April 3 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Despite a large, talented group of international competitors, there was no stopping Steffen Peters with what the judges deemed his new “super horse”, Weltino’s Magic.

Peters and Jen Hlavacek’s 9-year-old Westfalen gelding (Weltino x Diva by Diamond Boy) swept the small tour with impressive scores of 75.395 percent in the Prix St. Georges and 77.237 for the Intermediaire I, and debuted their new freestyle to a score of 79.417.

TEMECULA — It took a little while to get the final results confirmed, but in the end Alexandra Slusher and Last Call found themselves atop the standings in the CIC3* at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials, with 47.0 penalties.

Their perfectly clear cross-country round kept them just ahead of Canada’s Hawley Bennett-Awad, aboard her World Championship mount, Linda Paine’s Gin ‘N Juice (48.2), and James Alliston, aboard Jumbo’s Jake (53.6), who moved into third with another perfect round.

Horsetrader photo

Bree Hokana (second from right) and "Charlie" are AQHA High Point Youth Reining Champions, adding to the family's legacy of champions featuring her sister Brooke (left) and her mother, trainer and clinician Dana Hokana.

TEMECULA – Last year, when Bree Hokana had her goal in hand, it had been a long time coming.

After all, the 2010 American Quarter Horse Association High Point Youth Reining Championship is no quick achievement — it takes a year’s worth of competing across thousands of miles to earn the nation’s highest point total of all riders 18-under in the popular class. She committed to the goal after a monstrous 23-point showing on her SCF The Night Train at the Sun Circuit early last year, but the fire to win the nation may have kindled five years earlier. That’s when she watched her older sister, Brook, accept the same award at the AQHA Youth Banquet.

Horse in Sport photo

Susie Hutchison and Cantano

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — The $40,000 Orange County Register Grand Prix welcomed 27 horse-and-rider participants onto the International Field at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, as the Blenheim EquiSports season got under way.

Designed with the larger purse in mind, the Richard Jeffery course proved challenging as only four riders piloted their mounts without fault to secure a spot in the jump-off. Although Hap Hansen and his mount Archie Bunker set the second-round stage by laying down a double-clear performance, Susan Hutchison and Cantano were hot on their heels and effortlessly flew around the shortened track for the 12th grand prix win of their partnership.

HEY RAY!: I always hear about how important it is to put your horse away on a good note. I understand why my horse didn’t improve (or got worse) when I put him away after a bad session. But, why didn’t my horse improve after I put him away on a good note?
Lance Gunn
Norco, CA

HEY LANCE!: Your question is probably the single most important thing you should understand when trying to progress your horse. There are a lot of things you can do in order to train your horse, but nothing is more important than a clear picture.

Flying Horse photo

Carleton Brooks and Headlines in the 3'6" Performance Hunters

BURBANK — The weather threatened to cancel yet another Southern California horse show, but in the end the sun came out and Gold Coast 2 April 8-10 turned out to be a fun show. A lot of competitors attended to take full advantage of the opportunity to show with so many area shows being cancelled due to weather.

Carolyn Biava and her group from First Field Farm made good use of this show, and with 17 horses they took home five championships, three reserve championships, and numerous ribbons of every color, including their fair share of blue. They earned their prizes in everything from Leadline to 3’6″ hunter classes and 1.20m Jumpers and many levels in between. Even with their packed schedule, Carolyn and her assistant Janet MacDonald were able to keep all the horses and riders going in the various rings without stress.

LEXINGTON, Ken. — The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Executive Committee approved an Extraordinary Rule Change in the Morgan Division of the USEF Rule Book on March 21, 2011, requiring exhibitors in leadline classes to wear protective headgear at all times while mounted, effective immediately.

“We applaud the American Morgan Horse Association for this bold, forward-thinking move,” said USEF President David O’Connor.

Next in a series
After learning about the brace rein and the benefits of ribcage control last issue, let’s explore side passing.

The Brace Rein
Exercise number three is basically side passing, but it will have one big difference for most of you. While most novice riders start side passing by moving the shoulders and catching up with the hips, I’m not going to let you do it that way. Letting a horse lead with his shoulders creates such a disaster when it comes to lead changes that we simply never let them lead with their shoulders when we use our leg in the middle, or the back, position. We are always using a light brace rein to keep their shoulders out of the way, or at least neutral.

Notice our new trim? Thanks to your feedback, the Horsetrader is fine-tuning some pages here and there as we move toward a future that blends more and more closely our print and electronic products. This issue features a new look on pages 4 and 6. Our popular website, Horsetrader.com, has some cool new features, too, that help you find what your looking for online. The Search is On!