Sell or market your equine service including training, lessons, stabling, breeding, equine sales, etc. Or perhaps sell items you make yourself that would appeal to the equine enthusiast like jewelry, apparel and more.
The cost is $10 a table. Space is limited and tables must be registered by March 19.
The sale is free and open to the public for shopping from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information contact: JoAnn Dester 540-473-1422 or email whisperingoaksranch@yahoo.com.
Buck Brannaman in the 2011 documentary “Buck.” Photo via IMDB.com by Emily Knight
In the 1990s natural horsemanship techniques were thrown into the spotlight with the Robert Redford film “The Horse Whisperer.” Buck Brannaman was the real horse trainer, or some might say people trainer, that inspired the lead character in that film. Although several people have claimed to be the inspiration for the film, author Nicholas Evans said, “The one who truly inspired me was Buck Brannaman. His skill, understanding and his gentle, loving heart have parted the clouds for countless troubled creatures. Buck is the Zen master of the horse world.”
About 30 years later, the documentary “Buck” took a closer look at Buck Brannaman and introduced him to a wider audience than the devoted horsemen that follow him once again. “A lot of times, rather than helping people with horse problems, I’m helping horses with people problems,” he says at the beginning of the documentary.
Some call him a New Age kind of clinician whose teachings go beyond horses. “All your horses are a mirror to your soul,” he said. “And sometimes you might not like what you see in the mirror.”
Brannaman believes in building respect but not fear in the horses he trains. Having grown up a child of an abusive father, Brannaman has talked about how he found comfort in the friendship of horses. The compassion he sought as a child he now channels into his training philosophy. “The horses need to respect you,” he said. “But sometimes people confuse respect and fear. They’re not the same at all.”
A student of Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance, Brannaman now teaches clinics worldwide and this fall he will be in our region for two clinics.
From Sept. 30-Oct. 3 he will be in Walkertown, North Carolina, (about 2-hr drive from Roanoke) for a Colt Starting and Horsemanship clinic at Sullivan Farm. Email hopkin6136@triad.rr.com for more information.
From Oct. 7-10, he will be in Lewisburg, West Virginia, (less than 2-hr drive from Roanoke) at the State Fair of Virginia grounds for a Foundation Horsemanship and Horsemanship clinic. Call 828-899-2051 for more information.
“I often tell people in the clinics, the human possesses the one thing that means more to the horse than anything in the world, and that is peace and comfort,” Brannaman told ABC News in 2012. “That’s all they want.”
ACTHA runs on the concept of six miles, six obstacles, six judges. Photo by CC.
“Casual competition, serious fun.”
The American Competitive Trail Horse Association has gained great popularity in recent years, attracting all levels and genres of riders to its obstacle course events. It offers arena and trail challenges across the United States, with some of the proceeds from each ride going to local horse charities. The organization also plays up that its events are a great way to give jobs to horses that otherwise might just stand in the pasture, and therefore also give them value. Legions of people have flocked to this wonderful concept, enjoying their horses and challenging themselves while making new friends along the trail. And plentiful sponsors have flocked to them as well.
But rumors have been swirling about problems at the American Competitive Trail Horse Association.
Hosts are reporting that they haven’t been paid for putting on ACTHA rides. ACTHA staff is reporting that they have been laid off. And riders report that they aren’t receiving year-end awards. In fact, there is a Go Fund Me page set up to help get awards to the riders.
“I am a laid off ACTHA staff member. ACTHA is in the middle of a major crisis. Many competitors never received their year end prizes. I have volunteered my services to embroider the State Top Ten sheets and ship to winners, but these need to be shipped to me and then shipped to each individual competitor. Estimate at this time for shipping alone is $1120.
I have the first box of sheets and hope to start shipping them out this week as the embroidery is finished, but as much as I’d like to pay for shipping myself, I can not do so.
Should we collect more than the amount needed, excess will go from my own account directly to pay for other, as yet unpaid for, awards.
Please give as your own heart desires.”
ACTHA’s FAQ page on its website seems to allude to the issues.
On ACTHA’s own website, on the FAQ page, in bold lettering it reads “ACTHA LIVES! Details later today (1/20/16).” However, details cannot be found. Efforts to get those details from ACTHA have so far gone unanswered.
The Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, one of ACTHA’s most popular rides in the East, has no ACTHA rides scheduled this year and its rides are scheduled with Equine Trail Sports, which is very similar to the ACTHA model. A search found several other former ACTHA rides that have switched to ETS, and they encourage participants to register with the ACTHA number so that their 2015 points will transfer to ETS. “We will be riding with Equine Trail Sports for the next few rides,” one ride host said of their upcoming events.
However other rides, like with Elite Equestrian Events in Randleman, North Carolina, are moving ahead with their ACTHA rides.
ACTHA’s future does look uncertain. Watch closely to see if they can right the ship.
UPDATE, Feb. 8, 2016:ACTHA ride hosts are reporting that all rides scheduled last weekend (Feb. 6-7), across the U.S., were canceled due to the organization’s lack of liability insurance.
The second in the Stonewall Country Horse Show series is Feb. 5-7 (Friday through Sunday) at the Virginia Horse Center. Jerre Frankhouser and Claudia Roland will judge the USEF “National” rated show. It includes hunter/jumper, equitation and model classes.
Audit Bernie Traurig clinic free at Sweet Briar
Sweet Briar College is hosting a clinic with Bernie Traurig this weekend (Feb. 6-7). The first group starts on Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. and the clinic will go through to 4:45 p.m. on both days. Auditing is free at Rodgers Riding Center.
Traurig has represented the United States Equestrian Team both at home and abroad on many occasions and reached the top of the sport in all 3 of the International Equestrian Olympic disciplines: Show Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing. As a teacher and trainer, he is one of the most sought after clinicians in the country.
BCHA monthly meeting welcomes Scott Stevens
Scott Stevens, of the Rockingham Co-Op, with talk at the Botetourt Country Horseman’s Association on Tuesday, Feb. 2, about nutrition, field maintenance and just what is going on at the Southern States store. The talk, held at Bellacino’s in Daleville at 7 p.m., is free and open to the public. For more information, contact club president Debbie Mooty at 312-8393.
Get ready for Polar Bear Show at Virginia Horse Center
Looking ahead to next weekend (Feb. 13), the Virginia Horse Center will host its annual Polar Bear Horse Show in the East Complex. Stephen Bickers will judge the hunter/jumper show. Casual attire is allowed except for equitation classes.
Callan Curtis is a sophomore at Virginia Tech. Photo via Facebook.
Virginia Tech sophomore Callan Curtis has been chosen to represent Team USA in a Student Rider Nations Cup competition in Belgium.
Curtis, of Lovettsville, Virginia, was selected along with Hayley Bowen of the University of Reno and Courtney Welch of UC Santa Barbara to ride at the AIEC-SRNC event on March 25-27.
Fifteen teams from around the globe made up of 45 riders are expected to compete in Dressage and Show Jumping classes.
Curtis rides for the Virginia Tech Hunter team. This will be her first international competition.
There’s a major snowstorm set to hit our area this weekend, starting Friday night and continuing into Saturday, with predictions of 2 feet of snow for our area. But despite the wintry weather, there are still equestrian events that will go on in our area this weekend.
If you want to spend the weekend with your horses, load up now and head for the Virginia Horse Center for the Stonewall Country Horse Show. The show will continue, althoughit will be condensed to one arena. Show manager Leslie Brown said via email, “We have horses on the grounds, and we will continue with the show.”
Also scheduled this weekend:
Equine Demo & Workshop, Jan. 23, B.A.R.N. facility, Buckingham, Va. (11851 W. James Anderson Hwy) The event will post on it’s Facebook page if the event is canceled because of the weather.
EQsports.net will broadcast the USHJA International Hunter Derby – Showplace Spectacular at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, from Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois.
Stay warm and stay safe this weekend! And be sure to check our calendar page for upcoming events (you know, after the snow melts.)
The Virginia Horse Center will host the Roanoke Valley Horse Show in 2016.
The Roanoke Valley Horse Show will return in 2016, but this time the historic horse show has found a new home in the Virginia Horse Center, the horse center confirmed in a news release Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016.
After 43 years, insufficient funding for the charitable show caused the event to be canceled in 2015. For 2016, the popular horse show will be held from June 20-25 at the Virginia Horse Center, about 40 minutes north of Roanoke in Lexington, Virginia.
The show is a nonprofit event, and the funds raised are donated to health and human service organizations in the region. While the horse show will be moving outside of the area, the event will continue to benefit the Roanoke Valley.
“Unfortunately, we had to cancel last year because we were unable to cover costs,” Mark Hartberger, president of the Roanoke Valley Horseman’s Association said in the news release. “The cost of the Salem venue was just far too expensive. There is nothing wrong with [the Salem Civic Center]; it’s a perfect location, and we made a beautiful horse show. It is just very expensive to hold a horse show on grounds that are not made for horse shows.”
The Roanoke Valley Horse Show was held at the Salem Civic Center for more than 40 years.
Previously, the Roanoke Valley Horse Show was responsible for both the time and expense of installing footing, tent stabling and much more in order to make the horse show a reality. Now, the ability to utilize the Virginia Horse Center facility will not only allow the horse show to continue, it will save event organizers and volunteers time and will enable more money to be given back to the charities which the Roanoke Valley Horse Show supports.
“All of the maintenance, putting up tents, getting the asphalt parking lot ready to put horses on – it is all very time consuming and expensive,” Hartberger said. “The Virginia Horse Center is cared for every day so that we don’t have to worry about any of those things.”
Virginia Horse Center Foundation President Ernie Oare wanted to see the Roanoke Valley Horse Show continue, and he was instrumental in facilitating the move to the Horse Center.
“The historic and traditional volunteer charity horse shows like Roanoke are the kind of horse shows that are very sadly going by the wayside,” Oare said in the news release. “That’s why we’re so happy that we can hopefully help keep it going for years to come. The Virginia Horse Center operation is turn-key for them, which will allow their expenses to be much, much less than they were.”
The horse show is an all-breed horse show offering hunter, jumper, racking, roadster, Saddlebred and western divisions. To learn more about the Roanoake Valley Horse Show and supporting the event in 2016 visit www.roanokevalleyhorseshow.com.
We might be still in the middle of winter, but there’s plenty of events to take care of those horse cravings despite the chilly temperatures.
Weekend hightlight: Green Hill Park Equestrian Center near Salem is opening its 2016 season with the first in the Winter Series Fun Shows. On Sunday, Jan. 17, the center will hold a 26-class show beginning at 11 a.m. The classes range from Showmanship and Egg & Spoon to Western Pleasure and the Slow Race (some would argue this is the same class). Nancy Troutman will judge. Call 540-387-6256 or check www.ghpec.org by 9 a.m. Sunday if weather is questionable. A message will be on the answering machine if show is canceled.
Ranch Riding Clinic with Steve Meadows, Jan. 16-17, Virginia Horse Center Barn 5 Arena — Ride with Professional Horseman, AQHA Judge and Champion Trainer Steve Meadows.
Online:
More of a fair weather rider who prefers not to shiver while you canter around the arena? The USEFnetwork has lots of events On Demand for free viewing, including the latest George Morris Horsemanship Clinic (although without George Morris). Or hone your Western horse’s training skills using TheHorseTrainingChannel.com. which for a monthly subscription offers access to more than 80 clinics.
Looking ahead? Check out our Calendar page. If we missing an event, please let us know at Roanoke.Equestrian@gmail.com. Check the calendar often for updates as more shows are scheduled for 2016!
The Virginia Horse Trials in May at the Virginia Horse Center will host the inaugural USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Team Championship in 2016, the United States Eventing Association recently announced in a news release.
The championship will take place May 26-29 as part of the Virginia Horse Trials. Beginner Novice through Advanced/Intermediate levels will be offered as well as CCI1* and CIC2* divisions. All affiliated schools are encouraged to attend and compete for the title of Intercollegiate Champion.
“The Virginia Horse Trials have hosted challenges that include colleges and universities for a number of years. First under the leadership of Brian and Penny Ross, and now under Andy Bowles,” USEA CEO Rob Burk said. “As the birthplace of Intercollegiate Eventing Team Competition it only seemed fitting to award the inaugural USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Team Championship to this top-class facility and event.”
Each team in the Championship will consist of three or four members. Only three individual scores will count toward the collective team score, so teams of four will have one a “drop” score. Schools may send multiple teams, and each team may consist of riders competing at different levels. To account for differences in level difficulty, a coefficient system has been put in place.
The team with the lowest collective score wins. Top teams will be recognized and presented with prizes in a collegiate awards ceremony at the end of the competition.
“I am very honored to have been chosen as the inaugural USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Team Championship, as part of our ongoing commitment to team competitions we will be adding a dedicated member of staff during the Event, to assist in the smooth running from entries to results and the overall experience of the teams,” said Virginia Horse Trials Organizer Andy Bowles.
Although this Championship Event will determine which college or university team will be named the 2016 Intercollegiate Champions, collegiate individuals will still be recognized for year-end points accumulated throughout the season.
The Roanoke Valley Horse Show, which was canceled last summer, is back on the schedule for June 20-25. But you won’t find it by looking at the calendar for the Salem Civic Center. This year, the Roanoke Valley Horse Show is scheduled to be held at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia.
The show has just recently received approval to be held by the required horse show associations and can now move forward with planning and fundraising for the event, Roanoke Valley Horsemen’s Association board member Lynda McGarry told the Botetourt County Horsemen’s Assocation on Jan. 5 at its monthly meeting.
McGarry said there are plenty of changes in the works for the horse show, including dropping admission charges for spectators. The show will continue to be a multi-breed event.
The Roanoke Valley Horse Show facebook page also announced the new show location on Jan. 3: “New Year- New Location! The RVHA is excited to announce that the 2016 Roanoke Valley Horse Show will be held at the Virginia Horse Center June 20-25 2016! This could not have been possible without the help and dedication of our Show Chairman, Stacey Wright, managers Steve Kildow and Andrew Ellis and other members of the show committee. Although we will be at a new location, the Roanoke Valley Horsemen’s Association is committed to keeping this horse show’s charitable contributions coming back to the Roanoke Valley and traditions of southern hospitality at the top of our priority lists! Please mark your calendars to join us!”
Roanoke Equestrian 