Eric Antman and Merriehill’s After Hours, owned by Theodore and Elaine Olsen, proved again this year to be at the top of the Morgan breed with multiple titles.

Howard Schatzberg photo

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The best of the best in the Morgan breed was celebrated at the 2017 Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show, held Oct. 7-14. Since 1973, this show has represented the pinnacle of achievement in the Morgan horse world, and this year more than 1,000 of the world’s finest Morgan horses from across the U.S. and Canada met to compete in over 300 classes for $400,000-plus in prize money.

Several West Coast Morgan stables were extremely successful, bringing home multiple World Grand Championships and Grand Championships.

Kate Ramsower of Alamo, won the highly competitive AMHA Youth of the Year Award after competing with other youth from all over the nation in four different areas, including written exams, oral presentation, judging contest, and horsemanship pattern. She is trained and instructed by Merin Maggi at Maggi Stables in San Martin.

Jake Gorell and Plain Catty

Primo Morales photo

FORT WORTH, Texas — They can take the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s World Championship away from the West Coast, but they can’t take the West Coast out of the Snaffle Bit Futurity.

At least not this year, the first ever since the NRCHA moved its signature event for 3-year-olds from Reno, Nev., into the Will Rogers Coliseum. Jake Gorrell of Hanford, from the breadbasket of reined cow horses in Central California, rode Kevin Cantrelle’s Plain Catty (Bet Hesa Cat x Miss Plain Plain) to an exciting Open Championship, using a gutsy fence work to top Zane Davis on Bet Hes Black (Bet Hesa Cat x Soula Jule Forever), owned by C Ranches Inc..

Gorrell’s performance earned the winner’s check of $125,000 and all the trimmings that come with winning the sport’s most prestigious title.

Christian Heineking and AJE Cluny wow the crowd on their way to winning the 2016 $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Las Vegas, presented by Interactive Mortgage.

Amy McCool photo

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Organizers, certain 2017 will be its best year yet, are pointing out that the Las Vegas National, CSI4*-W is creating quite a buzz.

Especially on Spectacular Saturday, Nov. 18, when the doors open at 5 p.m. for jumping, jugglers, magic, and more.

The festivities begin as attendees enter the South Point Equestrian Arena concourse greeted by the Red Bucket Equine Rescue Welcome Center. While perusing the latest in equestrian fashion and tack, try the ‘Do Good and Juggle Challenge’ with Jacob Weiss of Playing by Air, create a memory at the Smash Photo Booth with fun props and interactive Vegas backdrops, capture the moment in caricatures with world-renowned artist Ken Hofbauer, seek out Modern Magician Rob Anderson, who will mesmerize you with his talents, and have Amazing Face Painting give you a new look for the night.

Eric Nvet and Basimodo soar to victory in the $25,000 GGT-Footing Grand Prix Final on Oct. 22. Mandy Porter won the year-long series.

Amy McCool photo

DEL MAR — Three weeks of premier competition filled the Showpark, as the Del Mar International brought the region three action-packed shows: Welcome Week (Oct. 11-15), World Cup Week (Oct. 18-22) and the Season Finale (Oct. 25-29).

One of World Cup week’s highlights was the Oct. 22 $25,000 GGT-Footing Grand Prix Final, taken by Éric Navet riding Basimodo. The year-long GGT Footing Grand Prix Series, sponsored by GGT Footing, is a series of mid-level grand prix classes held at regional standards with $286,000 in prize money. The program is designed to give riders a chance to compete head-to-head for year-end credit to be used the next year in West Palms Events shows. Riders may ride as many horses as they would like, but only receive credit on their top-placing horse.

The Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center (HCPEC) is situated on 25 acres of beautiful, sea-breezed land in Orange County, just two miles from the beach. Home to nearly 400 horses, with multiple trainers and arenas, annual horse shows in several disciplines, a wedding venue, and more than 150 acres of public trails, the HCPEC is one of Southern California’s premier equestrian facilities. HCPEC offers facility rentals and full-service show management for your next event, offering park-like facilities, beautiful weather, ample spectator seating, easy freeway access, and a full-time staff to meet your needs. The wide variety of riding disciplines that HCPEC can accommodate include hunter-jumper, reining, dressage, gymkhana, extreme cowboy, and breed shows.

HCPEC has stall rentals and ample trailer parking, as well as bedding and feed available for sale to your exhibitors. Our nine arenas are watered and dragged twice daily, and we also offer on-line class registration.

To learn more about this first-class boarding facility in a premier Southern California locale, contact the HCPEC at (714) 848-6565 or boarders@hcpec.com, or visit www.hcpec.com for more details.

Lameness in horses is one of the most common issues for which an ambulatory practitioner is called. Horses are athletes that work hard and use four limbs to get that work done. Just as with human athletes, horses get injured. One thing that makes diagnosing the problem more challenging is that they do not tell us exactly where it hurts. This month, let us go through the basics of the lameness exam and some of the more common tools available to us to diagnose the problem.

The lameness exam usually involves first determining which limb(s) is/are sore. This usually involves jogging the horse, as this a symmetrical two-beat gait. Once the limb is identified, now we have to determine where the pain is coming from. Commonly, practitioners start with the hoof and work their way up. The hoof can be visually examined, palpated, and pain can be elicited with hoof testers. Next, you can move up the limb checking for swelling or heat. Often times in the back of the pastern or fetlock, you can feel for an increased digital pulse. This can be an indicator of inflammation in the hoof.

As we discussed in my last column, your goal in a collected stop is to make going forward a lot of work for your horse. Make him really step up and put some effort into it.

To let him stop, we’re going to keep our hands moving while we stop driving him with our legs. The result you’re looking for is that he will stop with his back legs underneath him since his back is so round and his poll is soft. You’re not looking for a hard stop here, but for perfect form—neck soft, back round, hind end underneath.

Introducing non-horsey neighbors to their local equestrian life is one of the aims of San Marcos equestrians at the Horse Heritage Festival Oct. 15 at Walnut Grove Park put on by the Twin Oaks Valley Equestrian Association.

Horsetrader photo / Carolyn Read

SAN MARCOS — Wanut Grove Equestrian Center came to life Oct. 15 when the Twin Oaks Valley Equestrian Association staged its annual Horse Heritage Festival. Each fall, the event gives horse people in the region a chance to share their passion and lifestyle with neighbors. Getting residents acquainted with both horses and their diverse activities and disciplines is an important component to keeping an equestrian component in communities. Activities included demonstrations, vendors representing a range of products and services, a chance for anyone to get in the saddle, as well as a fund-raiser for the Equestrian Park called the Ride & Stride, a three-mile ride or walk along the City of San Marcos trail system.

MORE INFO: Http://bit.ly/711_TOVEA

During the three-day Norco Horse Affair last month, I gave a demonstration on Dude, a 9-year old Mustang that lacked confidence. His current owner has owned him for two years, and prior to that he had been owned by four others.

Because of an injury to the current owner (unrelated to Dude), the horse had not been ridden, saddled, or even removed from the property for a year. Just entering his pen, he was apprehensive and reactive. Prior to her injury, the owner had been riding Dude with no issues under saddle other than the occasional crow-hopping. The biggest issue was saddling – she had never really been able to saddle him while quietly standing tied. She would lunge him, and if she managed to land the saddle on his back without him making a dash, that would be a successful session.

A full slate of clinics like this one with trainer Sheryl Lynde kept Ingalls Park Equestrian Center busy during the Norco Horse Affair Oct. 13-15.

Horsetrader photo / Lori Wilson

NORCO — Sponsored by Thrifty Horse Consignment Shoppe, the inaugural Norco Horse Affair attracted attendees from throughout Southern California to Ingalls Park Oct. 13-15, featuring a collection of clinics, shopping, demonstrations and education with a special HorsetownUSA flair. Dates for 2018 have been set.
MORE INFO: Http://bit.ly/711_NHA