RANCHO MURIETA — The West Coast Reining Horse Association held its Best of the West horse show Oct. 11-16 at the beautiful Rancho Murieta facility near Sacramento. The show ran a full slate of reining classes, including classes for the National Reining Horse Association’s North West Regional Affiliate Finals.

Reiners came from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada to compete for seven trophy saddles, over $20,000 in prize money, and possibly the honor of representing the North West Region of the United States at the prestigious NRHA Futurity show which will be held Nov. 2-Dec. 3 in Oklahoma City. Gina Hunter from Tracy, winner of last year’s Non Pro Futurity with Guns Lit N Blazin, said that this show was a “great preparation for the NRHA Futurity in Oklahoma.”

TEMECULA – The top riders and stock horses from the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association converged on Casner’s Ranch Oct. 14-16 for the Sixth Annual Shootout and Booh-Yaah Benefit Event, and the results were Rich.

As in Roy Rich.

The Temecula trainer, whose barn at Green Acres Ranch is just an exercise ride down De Portola Road, added to his best year ever with a strong performance that included the top three places in the Open Shootout. He won the top prize and saddle on Miss Cattlemaster, a bay mare owned by Jodi Sypherd that totaled 146.5.

RANCHO MURIETA – Competition for the California Dressage Society Horse of the Year awards is always fierce, and competitors once again had to bring their best rides to the Murieta Equestrian Center on Sunday, Oct. 6-9.

The competition highlighted a big weekend at the 44th Annual CDS Championship Show held in conjunction with the CDS Young Horse Futurity (including the Cal-Bred Futurity), the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships and the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Breeders Championships West Coast Series Final.

LEXINGTON, Va. — Xena Vimercati, from the Three Day Ranch in Murrieta competed at the International Friesian Show Horse Association World and Grand National Championships, held Oct. 5-9 at the Virginia Horse Park.

Sjoerd, who at age 6 has amassed a remarkable 38 World and Grand National Champion lifetime titles, now has more career points than any other Friesian in IFSHA history. This year, he won championships in 11 different disciplines.

Ninth in a series
Last issue, Les started an in-depth look at how to use our hands. We pick up with more keys to communication.

Another thing you’ll need to work on is to develop your hands’ “neutral” position, which needs to become one where there is no contact with the bit. Our goal is to have a horse that yields quickly and smoothly to any pressure – ideally to just the feel of you taking the slack out of the reins – and if you’re used to having contact with the bit all the time, you’ll never get there.

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — The best six hunter riders in the country this year – Scott Stewart, Kelley Farmer, John French, Jenny Karazissis, Hunt Tosh, and Elizabeth Boyd – competed in the WCHR Professional Finals presented by the John R. Ingram Fund. The head-to-head unique competition saw John French, of San Juan Bautista, jump to the top of the leaderboard Oct. 7 for his third win in the history of the class.

French was the picture of consistency, as he rode through four rounds with no score lower than 87.33. In his first round, he posted an 87.33 riding Kennzo De Conte, owned by Kristen Abbatiello-Neff. He received the same average score from three panels of six judges in the second round, riding Mamba owned by Haven Farm LLC. His third round score of 88.25, riding Kaile Rudy’s Serendipity, put him in second place going into the final handy round.

DEAR DANA: In your DVD, you say the horse can get “clutchy”… could you explain what that means? Is it the movement of the horse?
Tonya Schnell, Boonville, MO

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Kristi Siam of Chatsworth came away with the win in the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals after a three-round battle Oct. 7 with Mahala Rummel on Papillon 136. The two riders went head to head in a work-off when they were less than two points separated after round two. The judges asked for various questions in the test, including counter cantering the first jump, a trot jump, and hand galloping the final fence.

Siam went first and put down a smooth, correct test and the judges rewarded her with an average score of 86.20 for a three round total of 257.40. Rummell followed and while she had no big mistakes, the judges gave her a slightly lower score of 83.85 for a total of 256.80 and a second-place finish. Miranda Scarpone on Rosso Rossini finished third.

The “perfect gift” takes different shapes for different folks – a show jacket that’s 50 percent off, an easy-to-use camera system for hitching a trailer, or the one Breyer horse model that makes a collection complete. Find these and more gifts for horsepeople on your lists in the 2011 Horsetrader Holiday Gift Guide on pages 12-14. It’s the perfect place for shoppers to turn to — and it’s also the perfect place to advertise in if you have horsey gift items for sale. Call our office at 760-546-1184, or email Lori at lori.wilson@horsetrader.com

Speaking of great gift ideas…how about a saddle for someone on your Christmas list? Broken Horn Saddlery in Baldwin Park is offering a great deal when you purchase your next saddle…a sales tax rebate on all new, in-stock saddle purchases in the form of a Broken Horn Gift Certificate after the trial policy is over (excludes Charro saddles). Plus, all in-stock Broken Horn Silver Show saddles are 20 percent off, plus a 100 percent tax rebate! That’s 16 saddles to choose from and the lowest price ever – almost a 30 percent savings! To find out more, call (626) 337-4266 and check out Broken Horn’s centerfold ad on pages 42-43.

Mark your calendar, the Extreme Mustang Makeover returns to Norco May 18-20 next spring. And if 2012 is the year you join in the competition, read on! Living up to its Horsetown USA moniker, Norco competitors will showcase their Mustangs’ talents on an urban trail course as well as other classes. Trainers interested in competing in Extreme Mustang Makeover events must complete and submit an application, available at the Extreme Mustang Makeover website. Trainers competing at an Extreme Mustang Makeover event receive $700 for reimbursed expenses, and there are no entry fees to enter. More than $350,000 in estimated prize money will be available at the 2012 events. Following the success of the bonus divisions for Rookies (first time EMM trainers), Young Guns (trainers 18-21 years old) and Silver Bullets (trainers 50 years old or older) in 2011, the bonuses will return in 2012. See the ad on page 71, and to sign up, go to www.extrememustangmakeover.com.

The Anaheim Hills Cattle Club is now offering Ranch Sorting on Wednesday and Friday nights sign-ups at 5 p.m. and a 6 p.m. start time. There’s a covered arena for year-round events, and Anaheim Hills offers discounted sorting runs with membership in the club. Call Andy at (714) 397-2830 for more info, and see the ad on page 68.

Martin Performance Horses invites you to come and join them for their Third Annual MPH Harvest Celebration, held Nov. 12-13 at the Anza facility. A weekend of fun will provide plenty of horse events to participate in – everything from trail classes to ranch sorting. Come out and support the High Country Boys & Girls Club as they’ll be on hand providing good food & refreshing beverages, along with a BBQ dinner Saturday night, with music provided by Adrianna Marie and the Deep Blue Three. More info can be found by calling (310) 418-4583, and see the ad on page 72.

Triple Crown Nutrition has announced its latest innovation in how to feed. The “horse feed innovator” has made multiple feedings easier with the new Simple Feeder, manufactured in Ireland by AFSH, Ltd. Eric Haydt, VP of Sales for Triple Crown, says the Simple Feeder is a great system for owners looking for convenience, for horses that spend a considerable amount of time in the stall, and for horses requiring large amounts to eat. “We can now spread these feedings out over 16 times per day, if necessary.” says Eric. Simple Feeder’s are light, portable and easily mounted within stalls, plus, they plug into standard electrical outlets – which means no additional wiring! Simple Feeders act as another set of hands to help feed, especially those early morning or evening feedings or weekends away from the farm. The Simple Feeder is not intended to replace basic management practices. It can be used for sweet feeds or pellets. Studies have shown that multiple feedings reduce the potential for ulcers, stall vices like cribbing, help regulate weight gain, and are healthier for horses that require large amounts of feed per day. For more info, call (800) 267-7198, and see the ad on page 9.