PASO ROBLES — In a thrilling finish, Todd Crawford and Sinful Cat delivered a big fence work score when they needed it most to clinch the newly renamed Jack and Phoebe Cooke National Reined Cow Horse Association Derby Open Championship and win a check for $32,742.

This year’s NRCHA Derby, held June 12-17 at the Paso Robles Events Center, featured 4- and 5-year-olds by NRCHA Subscribed Stallions competing in snaffle bits and hackamores. The competition includes many of the top Snaffle Bit Futurity horses from the previous year, as well as those who might not have been ready for the Futurity, but who are now able to perform competitively.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Australia’s Harley Brown continued to heat up along with the Blenheim EquiSports hunter-jumper season, taking first and third places in the $30,000 June Classic III Grand Prix June 24 at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park. Seven nations represented the field of 20 horse-and-rider combinations at the show.

Nearing the end of the qualifying round, Brown was the one to catch with both o his jump-off qualifiers, Angelli and Cassiato. With two riders to go, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson ensued and qualified her mount, Picturized, for the jump-off.

Eighteen-year-old Obbie Schlom of Silverado burst onto the equine scene last month when she finished with the champion and reserve champion Mustangs at the 2012 Extreme Mustang Makeover in Norco (see “Extreme Success,”, June 21 California Horsetrader). Her horsemanship skills and enthusiasm caught the attention of many in the horse world, including Road to the Horse creator, Tootie Bland.

After a decade of watching the most talented clinicians and horse trainers compete at Road to the Horse, Bland recognized Schlom’s potential and offered her the chance to represent Team U.S.A at Road to the Horse next year. The popular competition will take place in Lexington, Ken., at the Kentucky Horse Park March 15-17, 2013.

A little-known federal assistance program for ranchers and farmers is accepting applications for technical and financial assistance to improve conservation on their operations, including horse facilities.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s program is open to farm or ranch operations that involve the production, growing, raising or reproduction of livestock or livestock products. Called EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program), the program can provide cost-share measures for at least 50 percent and up to 75 percent of the cost of structural and vegetative conservation practices. The list of areas include heavy use area protection, roof run-off, watering facilities, solar pumps, waterways, and much more.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fires blazing across the Colorado landscape have together burned more than 100,000 acres in the past few weeks, displacing many horse owners. The U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) asks that equestrians, equestrian fans, and all people who share a love for horses make a donation to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund. Cooler weather and calmer winds are helping firefighters in Colorado contain the blazes, but the cost of relocating, feeding, and caring for horses is a burden that local residents and humane societies will carry long after the fires have ceased.

24th in a series
Last issue, Les introduced pattern exercises to reinforce communication. Here are some additional ones.

Cones
Setting out cones in a straight line (about 10 to 12 feet apart) can give you a whole myriad of exercises to work on. Make sure to think and look ahead when you are doing them, and think of steering the motorboat. So instead of thinking about the next step, you should be thinking about, and positioning him for, where he will need to be five steps from now.

Top reiners at all levels are gearing up for the 2012 Reining By The Bay, which will bring the Horse Park at Woodside to life July 18-22. The Brumley Management Group has another stellar five days planned for exhibitors, owners and the talented horses, plus dog costume contests to benefit the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA. California Horsetrader is a proud sponsor of this show, and you can come with us in our July 19 issue. Deadline is Monday, July 9. For more info on the show, contact Reining By The Bay at (602)677-3774, and see the ad on page 23.