Invitation Only surpassed Zippo Pine Bar this week as the leading sire of point earners. The 1990 bay stallion by Barpassers Image (who died in 2011 at age 27) was a leading western pleasure 2-year-old in his own right. Now his get have amassed 77,064 points, and at 24 he’s still siring winners.

He currently has 1,251 foals registered in 21 crops. His offspring have also earned 33 world championships and 36 reserve world championships. Zippo Pine Bar had 400 more foals in 26 foal crops.

Bred in California, he is now owned by Ohio Pineview Farms of North Lawrence, Ohio, who bought him in 2005. His foals are known for being well made, balanced and are very trainable. Some notable offspring include Hot Ones Only, One Hot Krymsun, Only Intuition, Only in the Moonlight, The Only Escape, One N Only, Repeated in Red, and DGS IndyGo.

VIRGINIA HORSE CENTER

This weekend the center is hosting the Virginia Dressage Association‘s championships, one of the oldes dressage championships in the United States. The show runs Thursday through Sunday. Highlights include the Intermediaire I Musical Freestyle Finals at 7:30 p.m. Friday and theGrand Prix Musical Freestyle at 9:24 p.m. on Saturday.

“The show is named after Col. Ljungquist who was one of the dressage pioneers in this country. It was started 32 years ago, and it was essentially the first regional championships in the country,” show manager Dianne Boyd said. “This year we have more than 350 entries. We are running three championship rings with a total of seven separate rings and two major night classes.”

Prior to the start of Saturday night’s freestyle is the extremely popular Doggie Costume Show.

FOREST, VIRGINIA

The Willow Creek Open Horse Show will be held Saturday at Willow Creek Farm in Forest. The show will offer a variety of English and Western pleasure classes. Find a show flyer here, including directions to the show.

GREEN HILL PARK, SALEM, VIRGINIA

The Blue Ridge Eventing Association will hold Horse Trials, Combined Tests, & Dressage Show on Sunday.

ONLINE

It’s a great weekend for horses if you don’t feel like getting off your coach. The All-American Quarter Horse Congress is streaming live on iEquine.com. Highlights this weekend include the 2-year-old western pleasure Stakes limited finals on Saturday in the Celeste Center, Halter Mares all morning in the Coliseum, and the Open Western Pleasure Maturity Finals in the Coliseum Saturday night. Sunday will include hunter under saddle and western pleasure classes, including the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure Sunday night in the Celeste Center.

Also streaming live this weekend on usefnetwork.com is the Pennsylvania National Horse Show from Harrisburg, Pa. Saturday night is the $85,000 Grand Prix de Penn National. But you need not wait for the weekend, both prestigious shows are streaming live all week long.

Cigar, the first horse to tie racing legend Citation’s record of 16 consecutive victories — including in such Grade 1 triumphs as the Breeders Cup Classic — died Oct. 7 at at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, from complications following surgery for severe osteoarthritis in his neck. Foaled April 18, 1990, the Hall of Fame horse and longtime visitor favorite at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions was 24.

I had the pleasure of meeting Cigar at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010. He was regal even in his retirement, and standing by his stall door looking into his eyes will be a moment I will never forget — my moment with Cigar. He certainly didn’t let on he was developing any problems with arthritis at that time. He stood like a gorgeous statue as they talked about him and all his accomplishments. And he seemed like he understood how special he was and was proud even all those years later. I felt honored to be so close to such a champion who I had watched race as a teenager. For my generation, he was like meeting Secretariat or Man o’ War, Triple Crown to his name or not. 

Cigar’s career had a total of 19 wins out of 33 starts with earnings of $9,999,815, which was a record at that time. He was voted Champion Older Male and Horse of the Year in both 1995 and in 1996. Cigar had lived at the Kentucky Horse Park since his retirement in 1999 after he was found to be sterile and therefore useless as a stud. Cigar was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in August 2002.

“Cigar had been experiencing arthritis-related health issues over the past six months and was in outstanding physical and mental condition other than the osteoarthritis he was suffering from in several of his cervical vertebrae,” said Kathy Hopkins, director of equine operations for the Kentucky Horse Park.  “Medical therapies had failed to relieve the pressure that the arthritis was causing on his spine, which had resulted in instability in his hind legs.”

The team of some of the best equine veterinarians and surgeons had decided that spinal surgery was the only option to relieve the pressure and ensure the highest quality of life for the racing champion. However, Cigar died during recovery when he fractured a vertebrae.   

“We are heartbroken to lose this great horse, especially as we were trying to do everything we could to improve his quality of life and make him more sound and comfortable,” said Hopkins.

Cigar will be buried on the Memorial Walk of Champions near Thoroughbreds Alysheba, Bold Forbes, Forego, John Henry and Kona Gold. Man O’ War is also buried at the Kentucky Horse Park, but in a different area of the park. A public memorial service is being planned for Cigar.

ELIS GV

I attended the Friesian Grand Nationals this past weekend obviously expecting to see gorgeous black horses with their long manes and tails blowing in the breeze as they thundered around the Virginia Horse Center for what is their world championship show. What I did not expect to find was an event that illustrated what a show could and should be. But that’s what I found Oct. 4 in Lexington.

The announcer was excellent as he quipped jokes and even interviewed the leadline contestants as they awaited the judge’s placings. (Everyone won, as is usual for the class for the littlest equestrians.) And for each class, he announced each horse as it came into the arena, giving each entrance something a little extra flair.

Perhaps the most engaging thing about the show (besides the competitors themselves, of course) was the music, showcasing a sense of humor that they weren’t afraid to use. They didn’t treat the classes like a hushed library, but played music over the sound system that went with the class. For the English Pleasure horses’ animated action, they played “Back in Black” and “Sexy and I Know It” as those proud black horses roared around the arena. It was nothing short of marvelous and you couldn’t help but smile and cheer. Meanwhile, for the next class, a driving class, the tempo changed to the nostalgic croonings of “Unforgettable” as the horses trotted in pulling carriages that were stunning in their elegant charm. Lanterns glowed at the sides, the drivers wore blankets over their legs, grooms sat in the back dressed in spotless finery, and I suddenly felt like I had been transported to another time in a blink of an eye. And during the dead-time of the arena drag, “She thinks my tractor’s sexy” brought a levity that somehow made the interruption less tiresome for those of us sitting in the stands.

For the shows that struggle to balance recognizing winners while also keeping a show moving along, the Grand Nationals seemed to have found a wonderful solution: reserve champion is called first. That horse then proudly goes and receives their ribbon while they call the champion. The others file out as they name the Top 5. Therefore the spectators know exactly who won, but the show still moves briskly along. And of course they have a victory pass for both the reserve and world champs.

I am torn about whether the dinner scheduled on the concourse of the Coliseum on Saturday evening was a plus or a negative. It must have been a wonderful community-building affair for the Friesian exhibitors at the show. But it certainly put a huge 3-hour gap in the day for spectators and I ended up taking my 8-year-old daughter back home to Roanoke rather than stay. I returned that evening while she stayed behind. I’m sorry now that she didn’t see the event.

The Friesian Grand Nationals is not a show I will soon  forget. For 2015 their world championships will be held in Los Angeles, California. But if they swing back around to Virginia again, it is a must-see for all horse lovers in the area. I know I will definitely be back.

More photos from the Friesian Grand Nationals will be posted soon here on The Roundup.

Official show photography was by Jon McCarthy Photography of Tulsa, Okla. Proofs will be posted at https://www.jonmccarthy.com/default.asp

2011 USEF Horse of the Year Sjoerd, the first and Friesian in history to win that honor . Photo courtesy ThreeDayRanch. http://www.threedayranch.com/sjoerd.htm

Virginia Horse Center

The tenth-annual Friesian Grand Nationals are taking over the Anderson Coliseum this weekend. It began Wednesday with Dressage in the morning and trail in the evening. Thursday will spotlight breeding in the morning and afternoon and shift over to driving and pleasure classes in the evening. Friday morning will shift back to dressage and then back to pleasure and driving classes in the afternoon and evening. There will also be a costume class on Friday afternoon. More of the same, including World Championship classes, will take place on Saturday and Sunday. Find a full schedule here.  Watch for photos soon on The Roundup blog.

Costume class participants

Also at the horse center, Therapeutic Riding Assoc. of Va. Fall Horse Show will be held. The annual show for riders with disabilities will feature a variety of classes including dressage, equitation, obstacles, pole bending, costume and United Professional Horseman’s Association classes.

Blacksburg

Walnut Spring Stables on Glade Road in Blacksburg is holding an open show starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. Hunter, over fences, Western, Reining and gaming classes will be offered. The showbill can be found here.

Online:

• The Capital Challenge Horse Show is streaming live from Maryland on the USEFnetwork now through Sunday, Oct. 5.  Hunters are in the spotlight and there are many pony classes through the weekend. Find the schedule here.
• The USEFnetwork is also broadcasting the Paso Fino Grand National Show from the Kentucky Horse Park through Saturday. A class schedule is available here.
• The Miniature Horse World Championship Show from Fort Worth, Texas, is streaming on iEquine.com through Saturday, Oct. 4. Find the class schedule here.
• The Arabian National Breeder Finals in Scottsdale, Arizona, is being broadcast by iEquine now through Saturday. Find the show schedule here.
• The All-American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, begins its broadcast on Thursday, Oct. 2 through Sunday, Oct. 26 on iEquine.com. The show received more than 20,000 horse show entries in 2014 during its three-week schedule. The show will begin with reining this weekend. A complete schedule can be found here. 

Reminder:

There are three huge horse shows coming up on the schedule within easy driving distance to Southwest Virginia. As mentioned above, the All-American Quarter Horse Congress is kicking off Thursday, Oct. 2 and runs through Oct. 26. In Columbus, Ohio, this show is a 6-hour drive and well worth it with unmatched shopping opportunities for all things horse as well as the world-class AQHA competition. Single day admission is $25 PER VEHICLE (Daily parking on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays is only $15) or $70 PER VEHICLE for the entire show.

The Pennsylvania National Horse Show is Oct. 9-18 at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa. The largest multi-breed show in the country includes the $85,000 Grand Prix de Penn National and the Pessoa/USEF National Hunter Seat Medal Final. Admission prices and ticket information can be found here.

The Washington International Horse Show will kick off in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 21.Highlights include the $125,000 President’s Cup Grand Prix and the prestigious Equitation Finals for junior riders. Tickets are required and can be purchased here.

Hunt Night Monday is full of interesting and entertaining classes. Shown here in perfect harmony are the Hunt Team winners, Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds. Photo ©alcookphoto.com