December 2014 - Horses Bound for Florida Seized in New Holland Three emaciated horses were seized in the parking lot of the New Holland sale barn on Sunday, July 27, 2014. For two of the horses, New Holland was the end of a tortuous road. The third horse, now called Anastasia’s Ally, is thriving at Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Woodbine, MD and will soon be available for adoption. Read full article >>
December 2014 - Champion PA-Bred Hunter is Dream Baby for Dam and Owner Dip, dunk, splash. Bonnie, an aged Appaloosa mare, is calmly and rhythmically pulling large chunks of hay out of her flake and dunking them in her water bucket. Her soft, half-closed eyes hold a dreamy look, and her pregnant flanks move steadily to the motion of her chewing. Read full article >>
December 2014 - Todd Feaser Crowned East Coast Equine Comeback Challenge Winner There were tears in the Large Arena of the Farm Show Complex as 10 rescue horses displayed their new found skills after just 90 days of training. Ultimately it was the amazing work of Todd Feaser of Newville, PA, and the rescue horse, "Lil' Red" that wowed the judges in the East Coast Comeback Challenge. Read full article >>
December 2014 - Sean McDermott & Delta Park Win Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Sean McDermott on Delta Park won the $35,000 Pennsylvania Hunt Cup on a windy Sunday, November 2 near Unionville, PA. This was the 80th running of the prestigious steeplechase over a four-mile course with 22 timber fences. Read full article >>
December 2014 - Pennsylvanians Sweep Dutta Corp Fair Fill International CCI3* Pennsylvanians dominated at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3* in Elkton, Md., taking home four of the top five spots, with Jennie Brannigan taking home the big win aboard Cambalda, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Tim and Nina Gardner. Read full article >>
December 2014 - New Bolton Recruiting Foal Sitting Volunteers Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center is recruiting volunteers to assist veterinarians and staff in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during the busy foaling season. Registration to be a volunteer “foal sitter” takes place in December, with an orientation to follow in January. Foal sitting volunteer shifts start in February and go through June. Read full article >>
November 2014 - Newlin Township Ordinance Passes, Equestrians Mull Options Was it the end of the controversy, or the beginning of a new chapter? When the Newlin Township (Chester County) Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on October 13 to adopt an ordinance regulating commercial equine operations, the jam-packed room erupted in a chorus of “Shame on you! Shame!” Read full article >>
November 2014 - Man Who Shot Horse Sentenced to Prison A Lancaster County man who shot a horse pulling an Amish buggy last November pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one to two years in prison followed by four years’ probation. Timothy Antonio Diggs, Jr. of Ronks, PA pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals, five counts of reckless endangerment and one count of propulsion of missiles. Read full article >>
November 2014 - In First US Competition, Swiss Rider Wins Harrisburg Grand Prix The excitement was palpable at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show as crowds filed into the arena to watch the star-studded field of top international riders, including Olympic and World Champions, compete in the $85,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix de Penn National, a qualifying competition for the 2015 FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas. Read full article >>
November 2014 - Controversial Horse Rescue Group Shuts Down Another Chance 4 Horses, the Bernville, Pennsylvania horse rescue/adoption organization, has apparently closed the barn door. The FBI raided the non-profit’s offices on April 30, 2013. Christy Sheidy, the organization’s owner, said at the time that the issue was health certificates for horses in her care. Read full article >>
October 2014 - No Food, No Parking, No Toilets, Just Mud, Mud, Mud: A Reporter Survives WEG The World Equestrian Games. Undoubtedly an event on every horse enthusiast’s bucket list, this behemoth of equestrian events comes once every four years, also serving as a highlight of the season for equestrian journalists like myself who spend months on the road covering the sports we love. Read full article >>
October 2014 - Changes Coming to Pennsylvania’s Horse Country as Supervisors Clamp Down “When have so many people been inconvenienced by so few who do so little?” Dr. Steven Siepser was the first of several speakers at a township meeting in rural Chester County recently, arguing against a proposed ordinance that would have an enormous impact on the area’s equine industry. Read full article >>
October 2014 - Editorial: Newlin Township is a National Treasure I am not a resident of Newlin Township, but I am a huge fan. I have been in awe of the bucolic countryside since I first turned off busy Route 41 onto the quiet country road that is Route 926 on my way to the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup many decades ago. The narrow, two lane road snakes through miles and miles of nothing but beautifully manicured horse farms, the ruins of old stone barn walls, historic buildings, seamless fence lines and open space perfectly configured for foxhunting—all just 30 miles from Philadelphia. Read full article >>
October 2014 - Hardest Core Stuns Racing World in Arlington Million, Heads to Breeders' Cup Roll cameras. A relatively unknown local owner, trainer and jockey team up with Hardest Core to challenge a superb field of turf runners including the reigning Breeders' Cup Turf champion in the 32nd edition of the famed Arlington Million in Chicago. In the compelling back stories that often that illuminate the horse racing world, few can match that of Hardest Core. Read full article >>
October 2014 - Quick Facts: The Pennsylvania National Horse Show The Pennsylvania National Horse Show is a non-profit event that raises funds for community and equestrian groups, including therapeutic riding programs and horse rescues. In the show’s 69 years it has raised more than $1.5 million for charities. bout 1,400 of the top horses and riders from across the US and from 9 foreign countries will compete. Read full article >>
September 2014 - Horses Lucky to Be Alive Train for a Career in the Equine Comeback Challenge There’s an interesting experiment underway, the results of which will be unveiled in Harrisburg, PA in October. Is it possible for a group of horses that have been so badly mistreated they are lucky to be alive, regain trust in humanity and become useful riding companions – or more? Read full article >>
September 2014 - US Team Heads to Harrisburg for PA National Horse Show Currently competing, and winning, in Europe, the United States Show Jumping team is letting the world know it is ready for the World Cup Finals and beyond. These same horses will travel back to the USA for the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, held at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA October 9–18. Read full article >>
September 2014 - Proposed Ordinance Would Restrict Unionville-Area Horse Operations Even in areas that are traditionally equestrian strongholds, changing factors in the community can make it more difficult for stables to operate. As development moves in, stresses on farms increase. Township Supervisors in Newlin Township, southern Chester County, PA are looking at an ordinance change that, if approved, would regulate horse businesses and limit the number of horses allowed on a property. Read full article >>
September 2014 - Feral Nokota Horses Are Therapists at Chester County’s Flowing Springs Farm Low rumbles of thunder growled across the pasture, but a silvery-blue roan paid them no heed. He stood steadfast in the sheeting rain, his left hind cocked calmly as he ignored the three-sided shed built for his comfort. He is a hardy, rugged type, straight from the badlands of southwestern North Dakota. His name is Hunkpapa, and he is one of the seven feral Nokota horses at Flowing Springs Farm in Chester Springs, PA. Read full article >>
September 2014 - No Longer Disappointing, Sweet Lou Wins Nine in a Row With a triumph in a track record 1:47.2 on Friday, August 9, in the Dan Patch Invitational Pace at Hoosier Park, 5-year-old Sweet Lou not only established a new track standard, but became the first horse in harness racing history to pace six consecutive sub 1:48 miles. The victory was his ninth in a row. He has already collected $916,500 and a world record. So why were drivers not clamoring to leap aboard the former 2-year-old champion and multiple millionaire prior to the start of the year? Read full article >>
September 2014 - Public Comment Requested on Proposal for $30 License to Ride Game Land Trails At a September meeting, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will consider adopting a permit for non-hunters who use state game lands. The proposed permit would be required only for those riding bicycles, horses or snowmobiles on designated game land trails. Others, such as hikers or birdwatchers, would not be affected. Read full article >>
August 2014 - 2014 Dressage at Devon: The Tradition Continues The 2014 Dressage at Devon (DAD), will take place from September 23–28 at the historic Devon Horse Show Grounds in Devon, PA. The three-day Breed Division attracts top breeders from coast to coast. The more than 60 classes feature 17 specific breed classes. Spectators might expect to see Trakehners, Oldenburgs and Hanoverians, but there are also those not seen as frequently in dressage such as Arabians, Friesians and Knabstruppers! Read full article >>
August 2014 - New PNHS Equine Challenge Focuses on Abused, Abandoned Horses While the 1,200 horses that compete at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show are highly trained, athletic and valuable animals, many American horses are home-insecure. The plight of unwanted horses is a silent crisis--the American Horse Council estimates that 90,000 to 140,000 horses are sent to slaughter in Canada and Mexico each year. Read full article >>
August 2014 - Motion Stacks Up Stakes Victories He may be a native of Cambridge, England, but Graham Motion sure has got the hang of celebrating an Independence Day weekend. The Fair Hill trainer set off some dazzling fireworks with impressive victories by Fortune Pearl in the Grade-2 $300,000 Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park and Main Sequence's gritty win in the $550,000 Grade-1 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park. Read full article >>
August 2014 - Horses Empower Kids by Being... Horses! Equestrians know Wellington, Florida as a toney horse-friendly retreat with a winter-full of fabulous competition. But, like many communities in the United States, Wellington’s gilded exterior hides a lot of sorrow for children who live with parents addicted to alcohol or drugs. Read full article >>
August 2014 - Equine Industry a Bellwether for Pennsylvania Pennsylvania’s Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says that money in the state’s Racing Fund has been misused. His review of the Department of Agriculture’s management of Racing Fund money has been criticized, celebrated, quoted and misunderstood. Read full article >>
August 2014 - American Horse Council Forum Asks “Where Are All the Horses?” On June 24, the American Horse Council held its National Issues Forum in Washington, DC. The forum featured speakers from across the horse industry discussing “Where Have All the Horses Gone.” Leaders from breed registries, racing, showing, the various disciplines, veterinarians and other stakeholders spoke about the decline in registered horses and the impact on their segment of the horse industry. Read full article >>
July 2014 - Boyd Martin Finishes Third at Luhmühlen, Local Riders Named to U.S. WEG Team Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton will represent the U.S. at this summer’s World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, thanks to putting in good performances at Luhmühlen CCI4* in Germany, the final selection trial for the Games. Read full article >>
July 2014 - Discord over Race Day Medication Reform Tick, Tick, Tick. It could be the sound of the countdown for the Feds jumping into medication oversight and tough enforcement. But in the run up to the Belmont Stakes, that sound was actually the scathing "60 Minutes Sports" segment that aired on the Showtime network on the pervasive drug problems in Thoroughbred racing. Read full article >>
July 2014 - Hot Weather Tips from New Bolton Center Summer heat can be dangerous for horses, resulting in dehydration, lethargy, and general malaise. Severe heat stress may cause diarrhea, or even colic. Owners can take important steps to keep horses safe and comfortable during the hot days ahead. Read full article >>
July 2014 - PA Para-Equestrians Finish One/Two at National Championships Rebecca Hart, Unionville, PA, claimed her sixth USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship June 5 at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, N.J. over a field of 24 entries. Read full article >>
July 2014 - Paul O'Shea and Primo de Revel Win $100,000 Grand Prix of Devon Ireland's Paul O'Shea and Primo de Revel jumped to victory in the $100,000 Grand Prix of Devon Thursday, May 29. In his first time competing at the Devon Horse Show, which celebrated its 118th year May 22 to June 1, O'Shea took the victory gallop in front of thousands of cheering spectators in the highlight event of the week. Read full article >>
July 2014 - Pennsylvania National Horse Show Presents the Equine Comeback Challenge The 69th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show, held October 9-18 at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA, will host the first-ever east coast Equine Comeback Challenge (ECC). Ten trainers from across the mid-Atlantic region will be paired randomly with ten mature, never ridden rescue horses for 90-days of training. Read full article >>
July 2014 - Readers Honor the Mentors Who Never Gave Up on Them From the very first lessons about grooming tools, to posting the trot, to raising the jumps by fractions of an inch, trainers and instructors are the teachers of not only the basics of horsemanship and care, but also of the fundamentals of life. These mentors nurture their students, blind to age or ability, and make their life’s work their students’ successes. Read full article >>
June 2014 - The Star Barn Saga: ‘Get Rich’ Scheme Costs Dozen of Horses’ Lives What started in 2011 as a “get rich” scheme to take advantage of a program that rewards Pennsylvania-bred Thoroughbreds ended in a Maryland courtroom this past March with the conviction of an Adams County man on animal cruelty charges. Read full article >>
June 2014 - Proposal Would Reshape Pennsylvania Racing The integrity of the horseracing industry is at the core of its economic well-being. Besides the glamor races—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes—that generate exhaustive media coverage glorifying the sport’s history and all its attendant celebrity, the sport relies on thousands of races at tracks throughout the country. Read full article >>
June 2014 - Focused Energy and Speed Abound at the Radnor Hunt Races Irvin S. Naylor's Decoy Daddy repeated last year's victory in the $50,000 National Hunt Cup by winning the 2 3/8 mile hurdle race for the second time Saturday, May 17 at the Radnor Hunt Races. Read full article >>
June 2014 - Motion’s Undefeated Daring Dancer Struts Her Stuff If you watched California Chrome's brilliant Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness races, you witnessed an explosive turn of foot. Simply put, the term refers to a horse's ability to accelerate quickly and put distance between himself and other runners in the blink of an eye. Read full article >>
June 2014 - Lancaster City’s Own Fab Four Protect the Safety of the Public They’re big. They’re strong. And they’re here to keep a solid hoof on the fast-moving streets of Lancaster City. Duke, Charlie, Liam, and Ozzy are the proud stars of the Lancaster, PA Mounted Police Unit, along with Lieutenant Timothy Frey, Detective Sergeant Sonja Stebbins, and Mounted Officers Wayne McVey, Eric Lukacs, and Scott McDonald. Read full article >>
June 2014 - USPC “Horsemasters Program” Allows Adults Opportunity to Learn If you're a horse-crazy adult who missed out on Pony Club as a kid, there’s good news for you. Pony Club is not just for kids anymore. In 2001, the United States Pony Club founded the Horsemasters program, which is geared toward adults who want to improve their horsemanship skills and want to be actively involved in the Pony Club program as volunteers. Read full article >>
May 2014 - Australian Guy McLean Finds a Home at York County, PA’s Evergreen Farm It was freezing in the Equine Arena of the Farm Show Complex at 4:30am on February 27, 2014, less than twelve hours before the start of the Pennsylvania Horse World Expo. Guy McLean and his wife Emily had fought their way across the weather-ravaged country, from Texas to Pennsylvania, just the day before. Read full article >>
May 2014 - Era of U.S. Synthetic Tracks Fading Away It was touted as the gold standard. It would stand up to a deluge of rain and all sorts of harsh weather. It would take away track bias and require a limited amount of maintenance. By early 2008, synthetic surfaces for everyday racing had been installed at nine tracks across North America. Read full article >>
May 2014 - Organic Composting is Earth Friendly Way to Deal with Death As a horse owner and lover, nothing is more horrifying than reading stories about these magnificent, innocent creatures are being abused, neglected, and starved. Unless it’s the thought that after they die, the horses’ bodies are being callously dumped into piles of their own feces. How could anything positive come from such a repulsive notion? Read full article >>
May 2014 - Fair Hill Races End the Delaware Valley Point To Point Season Rescheduled due to conditions from April 5 to Easter Sunday, the spectators were sparse, but the racing action was good at the Fair Hill Point To Point Races, April 20 at Fair Hill, MD. A full card of pony races, a leadline race, two flat races and four races over timber were run along with a carriage parade and live music to liven up the day. Read full article >>
May 2014 - Rose Tree Hunt Returns to Media, PA After 50 Years The Rose Tree Fox Hunting Club was located in Media, PA for 105 years (1859 to 1964) before moving to York County fifty years ago. Members are still enjoying good foxhunting 155 years later. The weekend of May 17 and 18, Rose Tree will hold a 50th year homecoming celebration called Hounds, Horses & History: A Rose Tree Hunt Club Festival. Read full article >>
April 2014 - Boarders Charged, Horses Seized from Former Lycoming County Rescue On February 20, Lycoming County Humane Police Officer Larry Woltz seized eight horses from a farm in Linden, PA. It was the culmination of an investigation that Woltz says began in 2007. From beginning to end, the story of these horses is a chronicle of everything that is wrong and many things that are right about the business of protecting animals from the things people do to them. Read full article >>
April 2014 - Top Billing Off Derby Trail, Samraat, Ring Weekend Headed to Louisville Fair Hill trainers and colts that spent time at the premier thoroughbred training center are making noise in the 2014 Derby preps. Both Graham Motion’s Ring Weekend and Rick Violette’s Samraat punched their ticket to Louisville in March races. Read full article >>
April 2014 - A Victory Gallop for a Beloved Institution Thorncroft Equestrian Center, the Malvern, PA home of one of the country’s first therapeutic equestrian programs, is easy to love and hard to leave. “My mother suggested I come out and help with some of the kids, because I was a rider,” Sallie Dixon explains. She started volunteering, and working part-time at the farm and eventually decided to try teaching. Read full article >>
April 2014 - Local Filmmaker Visits Rolex, Writes Eventing Screenplay Eventing is about feel. Nothing is so thrilling as feeling a horse galloping along well in hand, intently locking onto a solid fence and then launching himself up and over in one single, fluid motion. Unless it’s the focused, driving energy of dressage when the rider sits square and tall and the horse floats, as if by magic, across the arena. Read full article >>
March 2014 - Owner of Seized Morgans Appeals; Care Tops $110,000 with No End in Sight When Amy Kaunas opens the stall door, a petite black mare stretches out her nose to greet her, leaning in for a good neck scratch. Kaunas, the executive director of the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, obliges, telling a visitor only months ago the horse now known as Sioux would cower in the back of her stall, terrified of human contact. Read full article >>
March 2014 - Arrest Made in Shooting That Killed Horse An arrest has been made in the drive by shooting of a horse pulling an Amish buggy in Lancaster County, PA on November 24. The horse died shortly after it was shot. Timothy Antonio Diggs, 24, of Ronks, Lancaster County, was charged February 12 with five counts of reckless endangerment, one count of propulsion of missiles, and one count of cruelty to animals. Read full article >>
March 2014 - A Silent Language: Paralympic Rider Rebecca Hart Gets New Mount Norteassa. Lord Ludger. And now…Romani. After six long months of community effort, Rebecca Hart, 29, of Unionville, PA, is at last partnered with the 11-year-old Danish Warmblood mare, Romani. “There’s something about her body type and movement, and her willingness to work with my disability, that is so special. She’s the first horse I’ve ever sat on that hasn’t hurt my hip.” Read full article >>
March 2014 - Strong Prospect Top Billing Hits Derby Trail So far the flashy chestnut colt has lived up to his name. Top Billing stamped himself as a top-flight Derby prospect with a decisive victory at Gulfstream Park in late January. Dropping eight lengths behind the field of seven after a half mile, the handsome chestnut colt circled the field on the far turn and rolled home a 2-3/4 lengths winner. Read full article >>
March 2014 - Look Out, Prince Philip! Perkiomen Creek Pony Club is Coming for the Cup They call themselves the Avengers, but they look more like pony-crazy young girls, trotting and cantering their ponies in wide circles, waiting to start practice. They’re bundled up against the cold, gray February afternoon, while their moms huddle under blankets along the side of the giant indoor arena. The ponies are fresh and eager to get to work—or to buck and spin. Read full article >>
February 2014 - Standardbreds with Pennsylvania Connections are Dan Patch Winners As 2013 drew to a close and the new year loomed, members of the United States Harness Writers Association began poring over statistics to determine which horses would be crowned as the year’s Dan Patch Award champions. On December 19 the fruits of their labor were revealed and three horses from the Keystone State made the grade. Read full article >>
February 2014 - Controversial Bill Addresses Abandoned Horses A bill moving through the Pennsylvania General Assembly would give boarding stable operators the ability to attach liens on horses in their care. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Elder Vogel (R., Allegheny), specifies that stable owners would have the right to detain a horse and secure the cost of its care or auction it for non-payment of board. Read full article >>
February 2014 - Steadfast Region 1 Rider Victorious at US Dressage Finals They were alone, and her truck was creeping through rush hour Cincinnati traffic in the darkness and torrential rain. Joanne Coleman was shaking—the coffee and adrenaline surging through her veins—and her hands were wrapped around the steering wheel like a vice. Read full article >>
February 2014 - Uniform National Drug Policy is Now in Place at Pennsylvania Tracks When three trainers at Penn National Race Course were busted and charged with attempting to fix races by administering illegal raceday medications to horses last November 22, it gave the Grantville racetrack another major black eye. Read full article >>
February 2014 - Cold-Weather Tips for Horses from Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center With lots of winter yet to come, Michelle D. Harris, VMD, DACVIM, lecturer in the Section of Emergency and Critical Care at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center, offers the following tips to keep horses healthy and safe during the cold days of winter. Read full article >>
February 2014 - Third-Leading Jockey at Parx Juggles Riding and Single Motherhood More than 1700 jockeys ride at various tracks across the country every year. For just about every one of them, being a jockey is their full-time job. Maria Remedio has two full time jobs: Full time jockey at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA and single full time mother to two kids. Read full article >>
January 2014 - Honor Code, Trained at Fair Hill, is a Top Kentucky Derby Contender Can Shug catch lightening in a bottle yet again? Last May Orb stormed down the stretch to win the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby. This year trainer Shug McGaughey could be back with another top Derby contender in Honor Code. The handsome son of A. P. Indy is expected to be the individual horse betting favorite in the Las Vegas 2014 Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool in January. Read full article >>
January 2014 - Twenty 100 Mile Rides No Problem for Former Hunter Rider, Age 56 Debbie Schultz of Harleysville, PA is being recognized by the American Endurance Ride Council for completing twenty, 100-mile rides on her Arabian TR Notablymishaah. Schultz was originally a hunter rider when she was introduced to endurance riding by friends. "I didn’t like being in a ring. I liked the fox hunting part but those jumps got bigger and bigger. I would do it, but my heart would be in my throat," she said. Read full article >>
January 2014 - Observations of Horses Living Freely Provide Food for Thought One of the most fascinating aspects of horses living under natural social and foraging conditions is that they do so well with so little, even in fairly inhospitable environments and climates. They thrive without all of the hoof care, dental care and other modern health-care and nutrition we provide our on-farm horses. Read full article >>
January 2014 - Two Fined $2,149 for Trying to Sell Foundering Horse at New Holland Auction Pennsylvania law prohibits the sale of any horse, "which by reason of debility, disease or lameness or for other cause, could not be worked or used without violating the laws against cruelty to animals…" In August, a 10 year-old gelding named Phoenix arrived at the New Holland Sales Stables, accompanied by Arlow Kiehl of Watertown, NY. Kiehl was planning to sell the horse for its owner Wayne Gonyaw, also of New York. The horse was lame, suffering from a chronic and painful hoof disease. Read full article >>
January 2014 - Arrests Possible in Shooting That Killed Horse A horse pulling an Amish buggy in Lancaster County was the victim of a drive by shooting on November 24, and died shortly thereafter. The horse was shot by someone in a passing vehicle in East Lampeter Township around 9 pm on November 24. The buggy was traveling north in the 100 block of North Ronks Road when the vehicle passed it and the occupants heard what they thought was a firecracker. Both vehicles continued on without stopping. Read full article >>
January 2014 - Pennsylvania Equestrian Celebrates 20 Years! As Pennsylvania Equestrian moves into its 21st year in 2014, we would like to reflect on the past 20 years of business. Each year the newspaper continues to grow and produce the news horse owners in Pennsylvania (and beyond!) need to know. We would like to thank our dedicated readers for allowing Pennsylvania Equestrian to be your number one source for excellent editorial content, advertising design, and print production. Read full article >>
