DEL MAR — In more than a dozen grand prixes pitting Jaime against Gonzalo Azcarraga — father against son — the padre had always finished on top. Then came the $30,000 Racing Special Grand Prix July 31 at Showpark, where Gonzalo beat his father in a grand prix for the first time.

An impressive 1.50M track set by Canadian Michel Vallaincourt tested 34 horse and rider combinations representing six countries in the $30,000 Racing Festival Grand Prix, presented by Royal Champion. On this idyllic Sunday afternoon at the Del Mar Horse Park, 11 pairs answered the questions asked on course and qualified for the jump-off.

Lexington, KY – After a week of intense heat and one suspenseful afternoon of strong thunderstorms, the 2011 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North wrapped up today under sunny skies at the Kentucky Horse Park. The competition in all five disciplines – dressage, endurance, eventing, reining, and show jumping – was intense, and the approximately 250 riders from six countries showed that they had come to win.

Endurance
The first competition to wrap up this year was the inaugural North American Young Rider Endurance Championship. Friday’s 75-mile ride featured both CEI2* and CEI4* divisions. The United States brought home four Gold medals, three Silvers, and two Bronze medals in the endurance competition.

Will Simpson entertains corporate sponsors during a day of appreciation held by the Compton Junior Posse in Compton.

Appreciation was the theme of the day at the annual Business and Corporate Barbeque July 15 at the Compton Junior Posse in Compton, where Director Mayisha Akbar and her team gave current and future sponsors the chance to become better acquainted with the CJP – and each other.

Olympic Gold Medalist Will Simpson, a staunch supporter of the program, pitched in with a range of skills, from the clinic arena to the barbeque. Simpson will conduct a clinic for the CJP students at the Del Mar International Horse Show in October. This month, Horsetrader columnist and trainer Ray Ariss will be hosting the CJP at his Norco ranch for a clinic and trail ride. For more info on the CJP, see add on page 78.

HEY RAY: I took my horse to a local trail competition, and the obstacles were harder than I expected. One that seemed very dangerous was walking over tires. Not only did I almost kill myself, my horse now seems scared of all obstacles. Can you help me?
Natasja Hanes
Corona, CA

HEY NATASJA: I appreciate your question more than you can imagine. I, too, not long ago experienced a similar situation. I saw the tire obstacle separate the well-trained, broke, sensible horses from the rest of the pack. If I were looking for a horse to buy that day for one of my kids, it would have been the horse that got the high score in the tire obstacle.

Third in a series
Before entering the arena, we take a closer look at an important piece: snaffle bits.

Now let’s talk about snaffle bits. Snaffles come in an enormous variety of shapes and forms – fat or skinny, smooth or twisted, straight or curved, heavy rings or light rings, D-rings or O-rings, even inlaid and wrapped! And once you’ve decided on a particular bit, you can still change the response you get from it according to how high or low you place it in your horse’s mouth! So where do you
start?

Join Professional’s Choice on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 12-13, for their huge Parking Lot Sale and Customer Appreciation Day! Plus, you’ll be able to take a tour of the factory and see how your favorite equine products are made! With more than $3 million dollars in inventory and incredible discounts on selected items, this special event is one you just don’t want to miss. SMx Air Ride technology saddle pads will be 50% off on selected sizes, and selected bits will be up to 75% off. Many more popular products are on clearance, and you’ll have a chance to win door prizes! To learn more and to get directions, please call toll free (800) 331-9421, and be sure to look for the special insert in this issue of the Horsetrader.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was beautiful and sunny for the opening day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Shows at the Kentucky Horse Park. Today, riders gathered at the Walnut Ring to compete for top prizes in the Open Jumper classes. Ashlee Bond and Chivas Z were the big winners, claiming the victory in the 1.40m Open Jumper class with the fastest clear effort. In the 1.35m Open Jumper class it was Kaely Tomeu and Bella Blue S that took home the blue ribbon, after they completed a quick and clean jump-off round.

Allen Rheinheimer was the course designer for today’s events in the Walnut Ring, and he tested riders with a triple bar, a vertical-vertical double combination, and a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination. During the 1.40 Open Jumpers, only two riders were able to master the speed track without fault. Bond and Chivas Z, owned by Little Valley Farms of Hidden Hills, CA, were the first to do so, leaving each rail intact and opting for all the inside options to trip the timers at 62.226 seconds. The last horse and rider combination, Derek Petterson of Archer, FL, and Via Dolorosa, were also able to jump clean, but they crossed the finish line four seconds slower in 66.178 seconds to place second. The fastest of today’s four-fault efforts was Samuel Parot and Clinton’s Dream, owned by Artisan Farms of Mequin, WI, who broke the beam at 66.178 after lowering the height of a fence in the double combination.

Izzy Paskowitz helps camper

Danielle Paskowitz is best recognized by California Horsetrader readers for her occasional appearance in show news coverage on the stock horse circuit — the most recent June 2 when trainer Bob Avila rode her Shiners Rojo to the Open Bridle Spectacular at the Gilkerson Memorial in Temecula. Her passion for horses might only be topped by her life’s work shared with her professional surfer husband, Izzy Paskowitz, with their “Surfer’s Healing” surf camp for kids with autism. The Paskowitzes’ inspiring story will be the focus of a nine-episode series called “The Swell Life” that premieres at noon Saturday, Aug. 6, on the the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

AQHA exhibitors are reminded that several halter class rule modifications passed by the Show Committee at the 2011 AQHA Convention and approved by the AQHA Executive Committee are effective August 1.

“These modifications were made after long discussions and several years’ review by the Show Committee,” says Charlie Hemphill, AQHA senior director of shows and new events. “The changes were made effective as of that date to allow them to be in place for the 2011 Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Championship Show.”

Dear Dana: My mare is 5 years old. I was told that before I bought her she had been “beaten up” by other horses. Now I am trying to do drill with her, but she flinches and tries to get away as quickly as possible when another horse comes near her. She is so scared of other horses, even if they just look at her with their ears pinned or swish their tail. How can I break her of this? She is fine on trail rides, just as long as another horse does not turn their behind toward her.
Rachel Pritchett
Brentwood, CA

Dear Rachel,
In the past, I’ve trained horses with the same problem, and I was able to get them “over it” enough to become show horses. Some of them overcame it completely, while some stayed a little apprehensive of other horses — especially if those other horses were swishing their tail or moving fast around my horse. The mare was probably the bottom of the pecking order in the pasture, and those horses can be a little more timid or sensitive. But even though we didn’t reach perfection, the horses were greatly improved.