TULSA, Okla. — Of the more than 600 Arabian Horse Association National Champions crowned Oct. 21-29 in the Expo Square arena, perhaps none deserved a cheer as much as the 2011 Arabian Country English Pleasure AAOTR 55 & Over National Champion.

Those in attendance certainly noticed Helen Lacey Reed and her striking mare, SV Justajoy, in the arena, and the judges’ choice was clearly deserved. But the story behind her tumultuous journey went unnoticed. That is fitting, because the obstacle that threatened Reed’s accomplishment is largely unnoticed, too: depression.

BURBANK — Temecula trainer Tanya Jenkins recalls when a young Rebecca Goss rode her first reining patterns in her barn. Goss, who died at age 16 four years ago in an auto accident, has been memorialized with the Rebecca Goss “Boo-Yaah” Foundation, created by parents John and Martha Goss to provide financial support to assist families with burial and medical expenses, grief counseling and other recurring costs of losing their children. Within weeks of Rebecca’s March 2007 death, three of Rebecca’s classmates were also killed in another car accident, prompting the Gosses’ movement.

BURBANK — With The Beatles setting the beat, Rich Fellers and Flexible beat the competition at the $50,000 Grand Prix of Los Angeles on Nov. 19. The Saturday night crowd-pleaser at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center was a highlight of the five-day 2011 L.A. National.

The crowd loudly welcomed Rich and Flexible back into the ring for the last of the jump off trips, then fell silent as Flexible neatly cleared each fence in 42.78 — nearly three seconds faster than runner-up Rusty Stewart and Bristol.

Tenth in a series
After looking at the hands as communication devices, Les focuses on the seat.

To be effective with your leg cues, you need to be straddling your horse with your weight resting on the bottom of your hip bones. You also want to get to where you can stay balanced in the saddle no matter where your leg is on the horse. As we’ll discuss later, you’re going to need to move your lower leg from the spot just behind the horse’s elbow, to move his shoulder, to a position way back on his barrel, the cue to move his hip. So if you feel like you need to use your legs or the stirrups on a regular basis for balance, you’ve got a long way to go before you have the freedom to use them to effectively cue your horse. Keep just enough weight in your stirrups to keep from losing them. Also, if you’re clamping with your knees, you’re liable to vault out of the saddle if your horse stops, just let your legs hang when you’re not using them and keep them relaxed.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — It’s not the New Year yet, but eventers from California can start planning after the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) included them on the short lists for respective training and development programs in 2012.

Three California riders were named to the revised USEF Eventing High Performance Training Lists. These athlete/horse combinations will be invited to participate in training sessions this winter with U.S. Chef d’Equipe and Technical Advisor Capt. Mark Phillips. Preparation for and success at the 2012 Olympic Games were the Eventing Selectors and the High Performance Committee’s highest priorities in developing these lists.

Blenheim EquiSports and Langer Equestrian Group annouced a new year-end Championship Series to start in 2012.

“This is something that Robert Ridland and I have been discussing for several years,” said Larry Langer, President and CEO of Langer Equestrian Group.

Ridland, President of Blenheim Equisports, added that this joint effort “is an opportunity to bookend the country — I have long felt that the West Coast needed a set of special, championship shows like the East Coast has had for decades.”

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