PASO ROBLES — Entries, purses and prizes all increased at this year’s National Stock Horse Association Futurity, and one rider in particular seemed to be in a zone. The Zane Zone.

Idaho-based Zane Davis, who had his breakthrough year in 2009 when he won the NSHA Futurity Open on Reymanator (Dual Rey x Savannah Hickory), did it again this year aboard Michelle Cannon’s Shiney Outlaw (Shiners Nickle x Mereyda), topping a long list of quality 3-year-olds to earn $15,900.

Davis also brought west Reymanator, who thrilled the Paso Robles Events Center crowd in winning the 2015 World’s Richest Stock Horse competition, sponsored by Hearst Ranch Winery, to become the first NSHA Triple Crown Champion — winner of its Futurity, Derby and World’s Richest events.

PERRIS — Jimmy Flores, Sr., whose horse career spanned eight decades and touched thousands, died Sept. 7 from complications of colon cancer after a brief, but valiant, fight.

Flores, a frequent fixture with his popular Jimmy Flores Cowboy Gear vendor booth at performance horse competitions in California and beyond, was admitted to Riverside County Hospital on Aug. 12. His daughter-in-law, Robin Flores, noticed him moving much more slowly than normal around the ranch, and she insisted they visit the hospital. They did just that — after Flores, Sr., saw his chores were done for the day, at his insistence, according to Robin.

ELK GROVE — In August, one never knows what to expect with the weather. It could be a warm 106 or a cool 86. The Summer Rein show was blessed to enjoy the lower temperatures and cool breezes.

The Summer Rein show is an NRHA approved and WCRHA approved show and was judged by Johnette Burman from Montana and BJ Le Master from Sacramento over the 3 days. We started the show at 7:30 on Friday and with the cooler temps we started the show at 9 on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday Night draw party was held at the Elk Grove Milling Pavilion and hosted by Lorraine Kemper, Future Homes & Real Estate. We served 105 carnitas taco dinners and then the exhibitors were called to the stage 1 by 1 to select their positions in Non Pro and Open Futurity and received a gift card and a Brookside Wine Glass.

Fall is fast approaching, and that makes me think of harvest time, which leads me to images long past of draft horses and farming. Long before we had tractors, draft horses were the original horse power that pulled all the various farming implements. In fact, horsepower is defined as a unit of measurement of power — the rate at which work is done.

There are many different standards and types of horsepower. The term was adopted in the late 18th century by Scottish engineer James Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses and ponies. The development of the steam engine provided a reason to compare the output of horses with that of the engines that could replace them.

DEL MAR — Blenheim EquiSports is pleased to host the Young Jumper Championships Western League Finals again this year. After three rounds, one on Thursday, one Friday and the last one today, three young champions in three age divisions rose to the top of the results.

After Thursday and Friday’s qualifying rounds, all ten entries returned for the final round.

Two of the ten, Michelle Parker and Cross Creek Farm’s U.S. Warmblood gelding CCF Yasur (Ocean I x Andiamo), along with Jamie Sailor and Felyn Farm’s Hanoverian gelding Flashdance (For Edition x Quinar), jumped through all three rounds fault free. The two talented five-year-olds returned for a jump-off to determine the winner.

FABIANSEBESTYEN, Hungary – Kathrin Dancer drove accurately through the cones to finish fifth in the final phase of the 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs Sept. 14 with a time of 3:07.37. She led the U.S. team, consisting of Jacob Arnold and Scott Dancer, throughout the entire competition and concludes these championships with an 18th-place finish. The U.S. finished ninth overall with a score of 391.6.

“This was such a great experience,” she said. “Everyone who was here supporting us was amazing; it was just a relaxing environment. The rest of the nations saw that the U.S. is a contender. Our horses are only going to get better from here.”

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