Tag: hunters

Interscholastic Equestrian Association Hunt Seat National Finals this weekend at Virginia Horse Center

15th Anniversary Final Logo6-colorThe Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) kicks off the 2017 Hunt Seat National Finals at the Virginia Horse Center on Friday, April 21. The competition will run through Sunday, April 23. Nearly 400 of the nation’s leading IEA Middle School and High School equestrians will converge in Lexington at the horse center’s Anderson Coliseum to compete for top honors. The student riders, in grades 6-12, will travel from across the United States to participate in this competition. Riders will compete in Hunt Seat Equitation classes over fences and on the flat throughout the weekend. Although its only a short drive from Roanoke, the show also will be available via livestream on EqSportsNet if you don’t feel like going out this soggy weekend.

Riders will compete in Hunt Seat Equitation Classes, over fences and on the flat, throughout the weekend. The format requires that riders compete in unfamiliar tack on unfamiliar mounts; therefore, they draw their horses the day of competition and enter the arena after a brief, if any, warm up.

 Judging each of the team and individual Hunt Seat classes will be Rachel Kennedy from Brookeville, Maryland and Melanie Smith Taylor from Germanton, Tennessee. Kennedy began riding at the age of 3 outside of Philadelphia at Jack Trainor’s Here and There Farm. Following a successful junior career, she rode to seven AHSA Horse of the Year titles along with numerous state titles as a professional. In 1995, Kennedy moved to Maryland and started her own business — ESP Farm. She has trained and shown numerous hunters and jumpers to championships and Grand Prix wins on the on the USEF “AA” Circuit at shows such as the Winter Equestrian Festival, NAJYRC, Capital Challenge, Devon, Ocala, Washington International, Upperville, Vermont Summer Festival, and Fairfield.

Melanie Smith Taylor also brings a wealth of experience to the IEA National Finals. Taylor became one of only two riders to ever win the Triple Crown of Show Jumping — the American Invitational, the International Jumping Derby, and the American Gold Cup — and the only person to win all three on the same horse. After winning the World Cup Final in 1982, she was named the U.S. Olympic Committee Sportswoman of the Year and inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Two years later, she capped off her show-jumping career with a team gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Today, Taylor serves the horse world as a clinician, a television broadcaster for major events, including the Olympics and World Championships, and a recognized judge for hunters, jumpers and hunter seat equitation.  She is also the author of Riding With Life, a comprehensive training guide detailing her unique program for setting horse and rider up for success.

The IEA Western National Finals at will be held on June 30 through July 2 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where nearly 200 of the nation’s leading middle school and high school Western equestrians will have their chance to compete in team and individual competitions in western horsemanship and reining.    

SCHEDULE:

Friday, April 24

6:00 AM     Schooling of horses
7:30 AM     Varsity Open Draw and Course Walk
8:30 AM–5 PM     (approximate)  Competition

Saturday, April 25

6:30 AM     Schooling of horses
8:00 AM     Varsity Open Draw and Course Walk
8:30 AM–2:00 PM     (approximate)  Competition
2:00 PM     Varsity Open Championship Class followed by Award of IEA                   Leading Hunt Seat Rider
3:00 PM     Parade of Teams (All IEA teams, coaches and riders scheduled to appear in arena.)
3:20 PM     IEA Lifetime Achievement Award (Adult)
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM     (approximate)  Competition

Sunday, April 26

6:00 AM     Schooling of horses
7:30 AM     Holy Innocents Horsemanship Test Finals
8:00 AM     Open and Immediate
9:00 AM–12:00 PM     (approximate)   Hunt Seat Team Semi-Finals
12:00 PM–3:00 PM     (approximate)   Hunt Seat Team Finals Competition
3:00 PM     Awards Ceremony

 

Derby, hunter classic cap hunter competition at Lexington Spring Encore, Premiere at VHC

By Phelps Media Group, Inc.
The kick-off of the 2017 Lexington Spring Premiere is quickly approaching and athletes are preparing for the $3,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby which will take place on Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. The Virginia Horse Center will host the Lexington Spring Premiere Horse Show from Wednesday, April 26, to Sunday, April 30, immediately followed by the Lexington Spring Encore from Wednesday, May 3, to Sunday, May 7.
The derby competition will take place in Wiley Arena, an outdoor ring stretching 130 feet by 300 feet with footing composed of Kruse Cushion ride. The country’s top horse and rider combinations will compete over Paul Jewell’s hunter course to demonstrate their style during two rounds to win the Laura Pickett Perpetual Trophy, donated by Rolling Acres Show Stable.
The derby has been a tradition at the Virginia Horse Center for years and most recently it was Virginia native Jason Berry aboard Cobalt Blue R, a Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Oak Ledge Farm, who claimed the title in 2016.
Combinations participating in the Green or High Performance Conformation Hunter Divisions during the Spring Premiere and Encore will be eligible to qualify for the $7,500 Huntland Conformation Hunter Challenge Series. In an effort to promote the growth of the Conformation Hunter divisions in Virginia horse shows, the Challenge Series was created and sponsored by Dr. Betsee Parker and Huntland. Qualifying winners must compete at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show where the champion and reserve will be crowned.
New this year for the Lexington Spring Festival is the Trainer Incentive Program, offering one free stall per barn for a trainer-owned, professionally ridden show horse. This program is geared to help professionals in the process of developing young horses for competition.
Moving into the Lexington Spring Encore, the $15,000 Virginia Horse Center Hunter Classic will take center stage on Friday, May 5th at 5 p.m. Any horse participating in at least one of the hunter divisions at Virginia Horse Center is eligible to enter.
Unique to this class, $12,500 will be awarded in Classic prize money, while the remaining $2,500 in the form of a Jr./Amateur bonus, sponsored by Dorna Taintor, for the top six scoring Juniors or Amateurs.
Returning to the Wiley Arena, hunters will complete a Regular Classic Course over a minimum of 10 fences set at 3′ or 3’5″ for the first round. Only the top 12 scoring horses will qualify to compete in a second Classic round over a shortened course.
The Lexington Spring Premiere and Lexington Spring Encore are two of the biggest events of the spring for the Virginia Horse Center. In addition to the $3,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, the Lexington Spring Premiere is a World Champion Hunter Rider Event and features the $30,000 Rockbridge Grand Prix. The $15,000 Virginia Horse Center Hunter Classic takes center stage during the Lexington Spring Encore, followed by the $30,000 George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Grand Prix.

Cross View opens 2016 horse show series

The Cross View Horse Show series opened Friday night at Green Hill Park Equestrian Center in Salem with a special jumpers edition, which then rolled into Saturday’s Hunter/Jumper show.

Despite rains that fell overnight, the show had a nice turnout with about four to five riders  in the morning hunter divisions. More horses began to mill about the show grounds at lunchtime for the afternoon divisions, and by then the sun was shining and the temperatures were warming.

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The arenas seemed to actually benefit from the overnight rains. While there were puddles here and there, the wet weather kept the sometimes-hard Green Hill Park footing softer than on a typical day.

The show continues Sunday with an Open horse show that includes classes for hunters, gaited, western, ranch and more.

GET YOUR HORSE FIX: Equestrian events Feb. 14-15 near Roanoke

A deep plunge of cold air is coming just in time for Valentine’s Day this year, which may not make you enjoy heading out with the horses quite so much. But if your heart yearns only for horses, no matter the weather, you can still feed that hunger.

VIRGINIA HORSE CENTER

The Polar Bear Horse Show is a very aptly named event this year. The hunter schooling show will be held in the East Complex at the center. The event includes classes on the flat and over fences and begins at 8:30 both Saturday and Sunday. Casual attire is permitted except in the equitation classes. Find the schedule of classes here.

TAKE A ROAD TRIP

  • Clinic:  Lana Affemann Performance-Horses and Stark Performance Horses will be holding a clinic on grooming your horse and showing in halter and showmanship Feb. 14-15 in Smithfield, Va. (4-hour drive from Roanoke.) For more information or to RSVP, contact Hillary Stark at Hrstark184@yahoo.com or (757)705-3648.
  • Gymnastics Clinic with Paul Ebersole at Morven Park’s indoor arena in Leesburg, Va. (3-hour drive). Lessons will last one hour for groups of three or four riders, for all levels from Green horses and going up through the Eventing levels (Baby BN, BN, N,T,P,I)  Ebersole will also offer a cross country clinic Feb 28-Mar 1st at Morven. Cost is $90 per horse which includes Morven’s ring fee. Auditors are welcome to watch at no charge. To sign up, please email Pat Palmer at ppalmerwheatland@aol.com.

ONLINE

arabian
The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is the largest all-Arabian horse show in the world.

If you’d rather just stay wrapped up in a blanket inside during this bitter weekend, thankfully these days you can do so and still be at the horse show.

A LOOK AHEAD